It's <a><the> question that many an exasperated wife has asked

[JJXR]

Hello to all,

Thanks for reading my post.


Source:

'Selectively deaf' husbands might have a point

Sample sentence:

"Did you hear me?" It's <a><the> question that many an exasperated wife has asked her husband. The question is usually delivered in ironic fashion, because how can he not have heard her request to unload the dishwasher? Does the newspaper really rustle that loudly?

Question:

The indefinite article "a" is used in the original. Would it be correct to use "the" here as well?


Thanks a lot for any comments, corrections or suggestions!

Regards,
JJXR

 

[PaulQ]

It's <a>an example of a question that many an exasperated wife has asked her husband.
It's <the> that {question [that the following relative clause specifies] that many an exasperated wife has asked her husband}.

 

[JJXR]

Thanks for the response, PaulQ.