Re: The...the... (and other comparisons)

On 4/26/06, Roger Mills <rfmilly@...> wrote:
>..........True, saying "X is
> healthier" is elliptical, but it's a reduction _in context_ of "X is
> healthier than [whatever]", and would depend on the hearer's prior knowledge
> of the situation-- the presuppositions and assumptions underlying the
> discourse. "X is healthier" simply would not occur, out of the blue, as the
> first statement in a new discourse.
It might occur as the first statement in a conversation, if
there had been a previous conversation between the same
people about X's state of health.   "X is healthier [now than
he/she was when we spoke last]".

--
Jim Henry
http://www.pobox.com/~jimhenry

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