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Whatchadoin Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

The workers

I saw the following conversation on a TV show.

A: I'm at this really nice Turkish restaurant and the workers are so nice.

They were texting. Why did the speaker use 'the' in front of workers? The other speaker didn't know anything about them.

Can 'this' also be a substitute for 'a' sometimes?
  

Top answer

Because I presume that he meant "the workers waiting on me". The listener didn't have to personally know who they were or what their names were. I'd expect "staff" instead of "workers" there, so that conversation seems a bit unusual to me.

— Ivanhr

  • Because I presume that he meant "the workers waiting on me".
  • The listener didn't have to personally know who they were or what their names were.
  • I'd expect "staff" instead of "workers" there, so that conversation seems a bit unusual to me.
  • whatchadoin Can 'this' also be a substitute for 'a' sometimes?
  • No, I don't think so.
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8 Answers
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Because I presume that he meant "the workers waiting on me". The listener didn't have to personally know who they were or what their names were.

I'd expect "staff" instead of "workers" there, so that conversation seems a bit unusual to me.
whatchadoinCan 'this' also be a substitute for 'a' sometimes?
No, I don't think so. this can sometimes/ofte
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But they sometimes introduce someone like "This girl at school is(something).".
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Perhaps the speaker was not a native speaker :-)
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whatchadoinCan 'this' also be a substitute for 'a' sometimes?
Yes.
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It's VERY common to introduce a new concept with "this" in conversation.

This girl at school... she sits next to me in physics? So, like, today, she said something so funny even the teacher started laughing, and ...

There's this little place on Elm Street ... I must have walked by it 100 times, and today I finally went in for lunch and you will not believe how good the sou
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whatchadoin... and the workers are so nice. ... Why did the speaker use 'the' in front of workers? The other speaker didn't know anything about them.
It is absolutely not a question of knowing something about them.

It is a question of knowing which ones they were, and they were obviously the workers at the restaurant. Anybody who told me they
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Grammar GeekIt's VERY common to introduce a new concept with "this" in conversation.
Is it informal?
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I think you can read my sample sentences and make that determination by yourself.
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