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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

article

0Hi,02br
02br
00I sorted of learned from somewhere online that you would use the definite article before a noun in situations like this if you have encountered only one person in a yellow tropical shirt all day yesterday.02br
02br
01i00The man in a yellow tropical shirt I saw yesterday is standing in front of me now. 02i02br
02br
00But unlikely as it seems, if I saw more than one person wearing a yellow tropical shirt yesterday, could I use this?02br
02br
01i00A man in a yellow tropical shirt I saw yesterday is standing in front of me now. 02i02br
02br
00How about this?02br
02br
01i00The long discussion I had yesterday with you was boring.02i02br
02br
00Does that assume I have in my mind one such long discussion? Could I use the definite article even if there were more than one long discussion held between me and him or her yesterday as long as I have that long discussion in my mind when I write the sentence?02br
02br
00If there were more than one long discussion between me and him/her, only possible article I can use is an indefinite article like here?02br
02br
01i00A long discussion I had yesterday with you was boring02i00. 0-
  

Top answer

0> 01i 00A man in a yellow tropical shirt I saw yesterday is standing in front of me now. 02br 01i 00>A long discussion I had yesterday with you was boring02i 00. 02br 00No.

  • 0> 01i 00A man in a yellow tropical shirt I saw yesterday is standing in front of me now.
  • 02br 01i 00>A long discussion I had yesterday with you was boring02i 00.
  • 02br 00No.
  • Perhaps:02br 01i 01b 00One of 02b 00the 02i 00lo00ng discussion01b 00s 02b 00 I had yesterday with you (specifically, the 5th) was boring00.
  • 0-
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2 Answers
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0> 01i00A man in a yellow tropical shirt I saw yesterday is standing in front of me now. 02i02br
00No.02br
01i01b00One of 02b00the 01b00men02b02i00 in a yellow tropical shirt I saw yesterday is standing in front of me now.02br
01i00>A long discussion I had yesterday with
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0 «A man in a yellow tropical shirt I saw yesterday is standing in front of me now.»02br
00 Sure, it is incorrect. Try something like: "One of the men..."02br
02br
00 «The long discussion I had yesterday with you was boring.»02br
00 OK if there was only one long discussion with "him".02br
02br
00 «Could I use the definite articl

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