That girl had a fall on me when I was in my twenties

Question

Is the following text correct? And the letter which she wrote was a specific one, so don't you think definite article the should be used instead?

That girl had a fall on me when I was in my twenties. She wrote me a letter saying that she loved me more than anyone else.

Madhulk · Accepted Answer

s the following text correct? And the letter which she wrote was a specific one, so don't you think definite article the should be used instead?

That girl had a fall on me when I was in my twenties.
She wrote me a letter saying that she loved me more than anyone else.
It's fine just the way it is. But if you had said instead
'She wrote me the letter saying that she loved me more than anyone else.' it sounds like
you already knew what letter she was going to write to you.

Khoff · Answer

Jackson6612That girl had a fall on me

I've never heard this expression. Possibly it's British, but my guess is that you are mixing up two different expressions. You could say either "that girl fell for me" or "that girl had a crush on me."

Optilang · Answer

khoffI've never heard this expression.

Neither have I.

Avangi · Answer

Jackson6612 She wrote me a letter saying that she loved me more than anyone else.

I agree with Madhulk. There's no previous mention of a letter.

In some cases the reference may follow the noun in question. "She wrote me the letter which changed my life."

I'm thinking of a famous phrase referring to the battle at Lexington and Concord which "started" the American Revolution: "fired the shot heard 'round the world." Here the reference comes after the noun. You could say "fired a shot heard 'round the world," and it would have the same meaning, but the "the" really emphasizes that we're talking about one particular shot - although in fact it was not necessarily that way. But it makes a good story.

Anyway, there's nothing sufficiently dramatic in your sentence to justify using "the."

- A.

Jackson6612 · Answer

Avangi
Jackson6612 She wrote me a letter saying that she loved me more than anyone else.
I agree with Madhulk. There's no previous mention of a letter.

In some cases the reference may follow the noun in question. "She wrote me the letter which changed my life."

I'm thinking of a famous phrase referring to the battle at Lexington and Concord which "started" the American Revolution: "fired the shot heard 'round the world." Here the reference comes after the noun. You could say "fired a shot heard 'round the world," and it would have the same meaning, but the "the" really emphasizes that we're talking about one particular shot - although in fact it was not necessarily that way. But it makes a good story.

Anyway, there's nothing sufficiently dramatic in your sentence to justify using "the."

- A.

Hi Avangi,

You cannot judge if there is something dramatic in that sentence or not. Perhaps, that letter changed two persons' lives. Perhaps, that letter was the main instrument in getting them married. I should have provided some context with that sentence. Using the would not not have altered the meaning; it would just add some emphasis as in your example of fired the shot. What do you say?

Avangi · Answer

I think you have it right. If you include previous context it will probably enhance the meaning of your sentence. If some mention of the letter is included, the use of "the letter" in your original sentence will definitely be justified.

<<You cannot judge if there is something dramatic in that sentence or not.>>

This can be taken in two ways. I think you mean the sentence may be about a situation which is truly dramatic, or may include factors which had a very dramatic effect on certain events.

My meaning was that as the your example stands (without context) the wording is not dramatically charged.

Jackson6612 · Answer

AvangiI think you have it right. If you include previous context it will probably enhance the meaning of your sentence. If some mention of the letter is included, the use of "the letter" in your original sentence will definitely be justified.

<<You cannot judge if there is something dramatic in that sentence or not.>>

This can be taken in two ways. I think you mean the sentence may be about a situation which is truly dramatic, or may include factors which had a very dramatic effect on certain events.

My meaning was that as the your example stands (without context) the wording is not dramatically charged.

Yes, you are right, Avangi. Is that the a typo? What does charged mean?

Thank you for the help.

Avangi · Answer

"Typo" is too kind. I changed my mind and forgot to delete the word.

When something is "charged," it has energy - like a battery, which has (potential) electrical energy after it's been charged. I think it's possible to say that a loaded gun is charged when a cartridge is chambered, or that a cartridge is charged when the gun powder has been included. Another automotive example would be a supercharger, or blower, which compresses the air/fuel mixture before it enters the cylinders to be further compressed, giving the engine more power. (Volvo, Mercedes "Kompressor," I think)
.
So I guess I was saying that your sentence lacks dramatic energy/power. (Hey, no offense.)

Huevos · Answer

Jackson6612Using the would not not have altered the meaning; it would just add some emphasis as in your example of fired the shot. What do you say?

It just looks like a foreigners' mistake to me.

Jackson6612 · Answer

Hi Avangi,

I always find your explanations very helpful. Thanks for always taking time to answer my questions. May I ask another question, please?

You said: Type is too kind.

Perhaps, you used a short form of something like '''Typo' is too kind word for the mistake''. Am I right?

That girl had a fall on me when I was in my twenties

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