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Zbig Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
The chicken
I have one additional question for the good people here (I hope you don't mind that I post 2 messages today). I say to a friend:
It was a bad day. My wife forgot to bring the chicken that I had bought for our picnic.
My friend knows of no chicken prior to the above sentence. I am still okay using 'the chicken', right? It's specific enough. 'the chicken that I had bought for our picnic.'
I think I prefer that to:
My wife forgot to bring chicken I had bought for our picnic.
I would insert 'some' before 'chicken' in the above sentence.
What do you think?
It was a bad day. My wife forgot to bring the chicken that I had bought for our picnic.
My friend knows of no chicken prior to the above sentence. I am still okay using 'the chicken', right? It's specific enough. 'the chicken that I had bought for our picnic.'
I think I prefer that to:
My wife forgot to bring chicken I had bought for our picnic.
I would insert 'some' before 'chicken' in the above sentence.
What do you think?
Top answer
zbig My friend knows of no chicken prior to the above sentence. It doesn't matter. , which chicken it is) doesn't have to come from the social setting (who knows what); it can come from the text of the utterance.
- zbig My friend knows of no chicken prior to the above sentence.
- It doesn't matter.
- , which chicken it is) doesn't have to come from the social setting (who knows what); it can come from the text of the utterance.
- This is which chicken it is: the chicken that I had bought for our picnic zbig My wife forgot to bring chicken I had bought for our picnic.
- What do you think?
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6 Answers
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zbigMy friend knows of no chicken prior to the above sentence.It doesn't matter. The identity of the chicken (i.e., which chicken it is) doesn't have to come from the social setting (who knows what); it can come from the text of the utterance. This is which chicken it is: the chicken that I had bought for our picnic
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zbigI hope you don't mind that I post 2 messages todayWe don't mind at all.
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CalifJimIt doesn't matter. The identity of the chicken (i.e., which chicken it is) doesn't have to come from the social setting (who knows what); it can come from the text of the utterance. This is which chicken it is: the chicken that I had bought for our picnicThank you again, CalifJim! One quick followup: the same logic applies if I convert the noun into p
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zbigOne quick followup: the same logic applies if I convert the noun into plural, right? E.g. 'chicken packets'. It would be 'my wife forgot the chicken packets that I had bought for our picnic'. Even if I have not mentioned any chicken packets before. Correct?Yup!
CJ
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My wife forgot to bring the chicken that I had bought for our picnic.
You have defined the specific chicken in the relative clause: the chicken I bought for the picnic.
Having a defining relative clause has the same effect (speaking of definite / indefinite articles) as mentioning it earlier.
I bought a chicken for the picnic. My wife forgot to bring
You have defined the specific chicken in the relative clause: the chicken I bought for the picnic.
Having a defining relative clause has the same effect (speaking of definite / indefinite articles) as mentioning it earlier.
I bought a chicken for the picnic. My wife forgot to bring
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Thank you, CalifJim and AlpheccaStars! Thanks for all the good work you're doing here, for me and for everyone else. If there is a paradise, your entry tickets are secure.
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