1.I can’t remember the exact date of the storm, but I know it was a Sunday because everybody was at church. On (the) Monday the post didn’t come because the roads were blocked by fallen trees.
I earlier thought that we didn’t use articles before the names of days, but please explain me why we do it in the above sentences, a Sunday = any Sunday?, (the) Monday = the Monday after Sunday mentioned before?
During the meal he talks about the garden and she tells him the village gossip.
please explain using the definite articles in the sentence above:
the meal=every meal?
the garden=their garden?
the village gossip= the gossip concerning the village?
I personally don’t see any reason to use those articles in the 1st sentence. As far as your 2nd inquiry, it’s all about definiteness or how much both the writer/speaker and the reader/listener know about those nouns.
During the meal he talks about the garden and tells him the village gossip.
the meal - we know which meal they’re talking about
the garden - we know which garden
the village GOSSIP - we know which gossip
It’s probably the simplest article usage rule of all that comes into play in such situations.
To answer the query about the first sentence, the articles are needed there because they do not relate to the nearest Sunday and Monday.
It was a Sunday… the exact Sunday is unknown. It wasn’t last Sunday - it was just one Sunday.
On the Monday… is the Monday after that particular Sunday - not this Monday or next Monday - but the Monday following the storm.