"a" or "the"?

[teleostomi]

(1) Between 1860 and 1900, a government agency called the US Patent Office issued patents for more than a half million different inventions.


(2) ...but they had plenty of submarines, or as the English called them, "U-boats" (from a German word meaning "undersea boat")
Can we use "the" instead of "a" in either of the sentences?

[Pyan]

(1) Between 1860 and 1900, a government agency called the US Patent Office issued patents for more than a half million different inventions.


(2) ...but they had plenty of submarines, or as the English called them, "U-boats" (from a German word meaning "boat")
Can we use "the" instead of "a" in either of the sentences?

You can use 'the' in both, but I would use 'a'.

[teleostomi]

Thank you!

the government agency called the US Patent Office

Is this type "the...the..." generally avoided for some reason? Or is it perfectly OK?

[danmahaffey]

This little trick may help sometimes. Think of one and that in place of a and the. Which modifier (one or that) delivers the better meaning? Once you decide, choose the article (a or the) that matches.That government agency called the US Patent Office...
OR
One government agency called the US Patent Office...
These have substantially different meanings: the first calls out a specific agency and the second refers to one agency out of many.

Now substitute the corresponding article (which also reduces the overall emphasis a bit) and you have:The government agency called the US Patent Office...
and
A government agency called the US Patent Office...
I hope this helps.

[teleostomi]

that---the
one---a
Perfect answer!
You are one of the best teachers that I've ever encountered.:eek:

[danmahaffey]

You are very welcome. I'm happy for you. (I enjoy this, too.) :D