Usage of articles (As ... captain of ... ship, I have ... complete authority)

[nessie]

Hi,
Please have a look at this question:

As ... captain of ... ship, I have ... complete authority
a. no word - the - no word
b. the - a - no word
c. the - the - the
d. no word - a - the
==>> The answer in the book is a, but I suppose a and b make more sense. What do you think?

Many thanks
Nessie
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... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know..

Sorry seems to be the hardest word...

[Jamie (K)]

With no context given, both (a) and (b) could be right.

It would also be possible to say, "As captain of a ship, I have complete authority."

[nessie]

Thanks Jamie. So in a nutshell, these are correct, right?

- As the captain of the ship, I have the complete authority
- As the captain of the ship, I have complete authority
- As the captain of a ship, I have the complete authority
- As the captain of a ship, I have complete authority
- As captain of the ship, I have the complete authority
- As captain of the ship, I have complete authority
- As captain of a ship, I have the complete authority
- As captain of a ship, I have complete authority



So... is there any slight difference among them?
Many thanks
Nessie

[Jamie (K)]

I don't like the sentences that say "the complete authority", even though I don't think "the complete authority" is technically wrong.

The only difference in meaning among the sentences involves the difference between "a ship" and "the ship".

[MrPedantic]

I agree that context would make a difference. Without context, I would default to:

1. As captain of this ship, I have complete authority.

MrP

[nessie]

[Jamie (K)]

Nessie, they're so similar that it's next to impossible to explain what the difference might be.

[nessie]

Thanks Jamie. Now thinking over the test question again, perhaps I know what's in your mind