Q: Could you tell me the difference in meaning between the two sentences.
– You may not use cell phones in the hospital.
– You may not use cell phones in a hospital.
A: “The” means this one, right here and “a” means all of them. We may not use phones right here, in this hospital. We may not use phones in ANY hospital, anywhere, at any time. However, the second sentence is a bit unnatural, though grammatically correct.
Native speakers would say “We may not use cell phones in hospitals”.
（和訳）
theの意味は、今ここにあるこれという意味で、aはそのもの全部を意味するの。ここ、この病院で電話を使ってはいけないということと、どんな時も、どんな病院でも電話を使ってはいけないかということかね。ただ、２番目の文文法的には正しいけど、ちょっと不自然だわ。ネイティブスピーカーは”We may not use cell phones in hospitals”を使うわね。
