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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Articles

Which is Ok?

I lost a dictionary that I had bought the day before.

I lost the dictionary that I had bought the day before.

I lost my dictionary that I had bought the day before.

Thank you.
  

Top answer

If that's the first mention of the dictionary then "a" is appropriate.

— Ivanhr

  • If that's the first mention of the dictionary then "a" is appropriate.
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9 Answers
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If that's the first mention of the dictionary then "a" is appropriate.
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Thank you for your quick response.

It means "the" and "my" are also OK in some other situations, doesn't it?

Thank you.
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Yes, but "my" would be unlikey in that context.

Perhaps something like

I lost my dictionary yesterday.
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That is what I really wanted to make sure in this question.

At first, the sentence "I lost my dictionary that I had bought the day before." sounded strange to me

because I thought this sentence consisted of the two sentences A and B.

A I lost my dictionary.

B I had bought my dictionary the day before (I lost my dictionary).

A is Ok, but B is st
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No, I don't think so.

I bought my house 5 years ago. (nothing prevents you from saying this, right?)

I suppose this question is not one of grammar but of usage. I can't quite put my finger on exactly why "my" sounds wrong to me there. The grammar seems perfectly fine though.

I guess it has something to do with your buying the dictionary, which implies that it's yours (u
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IvanhrI bought my house 5 years ago. (nothing prevents you from saying this, right?)
Right, but I think the comparison may be faulty. I think you need to compare to

I really like my house that I bought five years ago.

This has more of the characteristics of the objectionable sentence I lost my dictionary that I bought yesterday.
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CalifJimI lost my dictionary that I bought yesterday.
It seems to me that you can't have both a possessive expression and a relative clause modifying the same noun, but it's not clear to me why.
What do you think of this explanation:

In such a sentence structure, "that" modifies or restricts the identity of "dictionary," but because of the po
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Now I understand from the word "redundant."

Also, I understand that I misunderstood the usage of possessive pronouns.

Thank you very much.
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sarcandraWhat do you think of this explanation:
In such a sentence structure, "that" modifies or restricts the identity of "dictionary," but because of the possessive "my," that identity has already been defined (if I say "my dictionary," that's the only one I have). The second half should therefore be a nonrestrictive clause:
I lost my dictionary, which I bought
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