A second one
"Earlier, the Czech prime minister, Andrej Babiš, said he would like to see Britain hold a second referendum on membership of the EU – even though May pointedly told EU leaders that one was not on the table."
(The Guardian.)
Is "a second" implied in that-clause that [a second] one was not on the table in the sentence above?
Top answer
It's kind of hair-splitting, but logically I would say no. The word "one" itself means "a second referendum". It already contains all the information needed, so there is no need to assume anything else implied.
- It's kind of hair-splitting, but logically I would say no.
- The word "one" itself means "a second referendum".
- It already contains all the information needed, so there is no need to assume anything else implied.
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It's kind of hair-splitting, but logically I would say no. The word "one" itself means "a second referendum". It already contains all the information needed, so there is no need to assume anything else implied.
0Earlier,." the Czech prime minister, Andrej Babiš, said he would like to see Britain hold a second referendum on membership of the EU – even though May pointedly told EU leaders that one was not on the table.
No, that's not how it works. "One" is anaphoric - it has the NP "a second referendum" as antecedent.
We understand that "a second referendum" was not
0
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