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Fohmer Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Anaphora
According to the theory of indirect anaphora for the definite article determiner 'the', the following is good English:
"Our school is really fabulous. The classrooms are brand-new. The teachers are knowledgeable and smart. And the atmosphere is friendly. "
In the understanding of general people, a school must necessarily have classrooms, teachers, and possibly the environment/atmosphere of learning. So in the example, 'the classrooms', 'the teachers', and 'the students' must refer respectively to 'the classrooms of our school', 'the teachers of our school', and 'the atmosphere of our school'. So there is no ambiguity.
Could there exist some theory of indirect anaphorism for demonstrative determiners 'this', 'these', 'that', and 'those', so that the following is also good English:
"Our school is really fabulous. These/Those classrooms are brand-new. These/Those teachers are knowledgeable and smart. And this/that atmosphere is friendly. "
"Our school is really fabulous. The classrooms are brand-new. The teachers are knowledgeable and smart. And the atmosphere is friendly. "
In the understanding of general people, a school must necessarily have classrooms, teachers, and possibly the environment/atmosphere of learning. So in the example, 'the classrooms', 'the teachers', and 'the students' must refer respectively to 'the classrooms of our school', 'the teachers of our school', and 'the atmosphere of our school'. So there is no ambiguity.
Could there exist some theory of indirect anaphorism for demonstrative determiners 'this', 'these', 'that', and 'those', so that the following is also good English:
"Our school is really fabulous. These/Those classrooms are brand-new. These/Those teachers are knowledgeable and smart. And this/that atmosphere is friendly. "
Top answer
It's good English (in a suitable context, as is always the case with demonstratives), so I assume that someone has come up with a theory as to why . Clive
- It's good English (in a suitable context, as is always the case with demonstratives), so I assume that someone has come up with a theory as to why .
- Clive
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6 Answers
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It's good English (in a suitable context, as is always the case with demonstratives), so I assume that someone has come up with a theory as to why
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fohmerCould there exist some theory of indirect anaphorism for demonstrative determiners 'this', 'these', 'that', and 'those', so that the following is also good English?There could. Yes. But I don't think anybody knows what it is.
CJ
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So, the example with "the" is correct, but the example with "this", "that", "these", and "those" is wrong?
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How are the "the" example and the "this-that-these-those" example used differently?
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fohmerSo, the example with "the" is correct, but the example with "this", "that", "these", and "those" is wrong?No. If you're there in the school, 'these classrooms' makes sense. As usual with 'these', it means the ones near the speaker. And so on for the other words you asked about.
CJ
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