Thank you for a nice present

[hirashin]

Dear native English speakers,
I have a little question.

About the following sentences:
(a) Thank you for the nice present.
(b) Thank you for your nice present.
(c) Thank you for a nice present.

I believe you say (a) or (b). But do you ever say (c)?
If you do, in which case do you say it?

Thanks in advance.

Hirashin

 

[OoTmaster]

I can't think of any situation where you would say that exact phrase. You might say "Thank you for bringing a nice present."

 

[hirashin]

Thanks for the help, OoTmaster. Is it that you use (a) and (b) but not (c)?

 

[joadbres]

In this case, as in almost every case, you should follow the standard rule for determining when to use "the" vs. "a" for singular nouns. If you expect the 聞き手 to know what you are referring to, then use "the" (定冠詞). Otherwise, use "a" (不定冠詞). In this case, obviously the gift-giver knows which gift is being spoken about, so "the" is appropriate. ("Your" is also OK.)
Note, though, that you might see "a nice present" used in a context such as the following:
"Thank you for bringing such a nice present." "such a ..." is a set phrase here.

 

[hirashin]

Thank you for the help, joadbres. It is really hard for Japanese to judge which article to use. In this case I thought that "the" or "your" would be appropriate but the answer book of the exercise book says "thank you for a nice present." So I wanted native speakers' views. I think we should use books by native speakers to teach English but many schools in Japan including the school I work for use exercise books by Japanese people.

 

[hirashin]

How about "Thank you for such a nice present."?

 

[OoTmaster]

Yes you can use it like that.