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Re: OT: Two language change questions

From:Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>
Date:Thursday, October 30, 2008, 16:05
The article doesn't affect the meaning that way for me.  I still read
the cream pie as what the clown hit with. The article solely
distinguishes between an unspecified/previously unmentioned pie or a
particular/established one.
If you drop the articles completely then the missile is now
undifferentiated cream pie - the filling, rather than a discrete
object.



On 10/29/08, Gary Shannon <fiziwig@...> wrote:
> --- On Wed, 10/29/08, David McCann <david@...> wrote: > > ... >> >> I wouldn't say that the indefinite article is *only* a >> quantifier: I'm >> always suspicious of theorists who insist there is only one >> true way to >> describe the phenomena! But *primarily* a quantifier, yes. > > Here's an odd role for the definite vs indefinite article: > > The clown hit the man with A cream pie. > The clown hit the man with THE cream pie. > > In the first it is clear that the cream pie was the weapon used against the > man, while in the second case it seems that the clown hit, with some unknown > weapon, the man who was holding the cream pie. > > E.G: > > The clown hit the man with A baseball bat. > The clown hit the man with THE red hat. > > --gary >
-- Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>

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Gary Shannon <fiziwig@...>