Clara first bought the five-room house, including the kitchen and bathroom, for $3,000 in 1994. (source)
This is the first time ever the article mentions the house's kitchen and bathroom, so shouldn't both be preceded by indefinite articles? Why does the definite article occur here and why is there only one of it?
I thought a sensible sentence should look like:
Clara first bought the five-room house, including a kitchen and a bathroom, for $3,000 in 1994.
Best Answer
Short answer
It's assumed that the five-room house already has a kitchen and a bathroom, and the reader is reasonably expected to make that assumption. Therefore, "the" is appropriate.
Also, "the kitchen and bathroom" can be written as "the kitchen and the bathroom", but the latter is too wordy and thus omitted for conciseness. In "the kitchen and (the) bathroom", the second "the" is understood.
Explanation
The rule for "the" isn't necessarily for its noun to have already been mentioned beforehand. Rather, if the reader (listener) can be expected to reasonably answer the question, "which one?", then "the" is appropriate.
In the case of the sentence you posted, the writer says "including the kitchen and bathroom". The reader can ask "which kitchen and bathroom?", and the reader should be reasonably expected to answer it: "the kitchen and bathroom (in the five-room house)".