Learn English – Word choice: the or that

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This is an Arabic sentence that I have translated into English. It makes more sense in Arabic. I need help on the last part. Thank you.

If A is followed by E, I or U, the A will be incorporated into the/that letter.

Best Answer

the: used before nouns to refer to particular things or people that have already been talked about or are already known or that are in a situation where it is clear what is happening

that: used to refer to something that has been mentioned or was involved earlier, or to something that is already known about

As you can see, there is little difference between the meanings of the two words in this context. My preference would be for that. I would also expand the sentence a little, like this:

If a letter A is followed by one of the letters E, I or U, the A will be incorporated into that letter.

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