Re: Number in Trentish
| From: | Vasiliy Chernov <bc_@...> |
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| Date: | Thursday, December 20, 2001, 18:17 |
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On Thu, 13 Dec 2001 10:14:55 -0500, Muke Tever
<alrivera@...> wrote:
>I noticed this kind of English sentence:
>
> There are mice in the house.
> There are mice in the corner.
>
It seems to me that in the first sentence, the speaker is actually
qualifying the house. Sort of, there are two kinds of houses, those with
mice and those without ones. S/he could say the same after having just
seen exactly one mouse, and not knowing actually if there are more of
them. It's not the quantity that matters, rather, the house's being not
"mice-free".
What do L1 speakers think?
Basilius
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