“a whole+ n.”與“the whole+n.”有何區別

區別一：“a whole+n”表泛指或不確指，“the whole+n”表特指或確指。比較并體會：
    He ate a whole chicken! 他吃了整整一只雞。
        He ate the whole chicken by himself. 他一個人吃了這整整一只雞。
        They travelled for a whole year. 他們旅游了整整一年。
        They have been travelling for the whole year. 他們這整整一年都在旅游。
        I waited a whole week for him to answer. 我等他的回音等了整整一個星期。
     I waited the whole week for him to answer. 我那整整一個星期都在等他的回音。

區別二：由于不可數名詞前不能使用不定冠詞，所以也就不能使用a whole；但能這樣用的名詞并不多，常見的有time, truth, energy等。如：
        He works the whole time. 他總是在工作。
     Tell me the whole truth. 把實情一五一十都告訴我。
     Although technically speaking you may not have lied, you certainly haven't told us the whole truth. 盡管嚴格來說你沒算撒謊，但肯定你并沒把實情都告訴我們。

區別三：有些名詞在表示特定意思時其前必須要用定冠詞，此時也只能用the whole，不用a whole，否則意思就變了。如：
     Soon the whole school knew about her win. 不久，全校師生都知道她獲勝了。
      Soon the whole town was talking about it. 不久鎮上的人就都談論起這件事了。