Re: OT: Two language change questions

--- 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

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