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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

There is a thing on the table.

0I'd appreciate it if someone would answer my question. Thanks in advance.02br
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00①Are the following 2 sentences the same in meaning?02br
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00A: There is something on the table.02br
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00B: There is a thing on the table.02br
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00②Sentence B is unfamiliar to me. (In fact it's of my own making.) 02br
00Is B wrong? If so, I'd like to know why "a thing" can't be used single - handedly.0-
  

Top answer

0To me they sound almost equal. But perhaps the difference is that "something", apart from anything else, may imply some splashed water, for example, or dust on the table (which aren't a thing in its normal sense), while "a thing" implies a certain thing (a vase, flower, can, ect). Anyway, I would use "something" in most cases.

— Ruslana

  • 0To me they sound almost equal.
  • But perhaps the difference is that "something", apart from anything else, may imply some splashed water, for example, or dust on the table (which aren't a thing in its normal sense), while "a thing" implies a certain thing (a vase, flower, can, ect).
  • Anyway, I would use "something" in most cases.
  • 0-
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11 Answers
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0To me they sound almost equal. But perhaps the difference is that "something", apart from anything else, may imply some splashed water, for example, or dust on the table (which aren't a thing in its normal sense), while "a thing" implies a certain thing (a vase, flower, can, ect). Anyway, I would use "something" in most cases. 0-
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0Hi,02br
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01font00I'd appreciate it if someone would answer my question. Thanks in advance.02font02br
02br
01font00①Are the following 2 sentences the same in meaning?02font02br
02br
01font00A: There is something on the table.02fon
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0Hi, Clive. ---Now it's clear that "a thing" can be used without being modified by something as far as grammar is concerned.02br
00 (What interests me most is whether "a thing" can be used single-handedly.)02br
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00 So can "the thing" be used without being modified, too?02br
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00 Can we say, depending on the context, "I know th
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0I think you can say 01i00that thing02i00, but 01i00it/that02i00 just sounds more natural. 0-
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0Hi,02br
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00Grammatically, you can certainly say 'the thing'. 02br
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00In practice, the use of the phrase is idiomatic. Sometimes it will sound OK, sometimes not. It depends on the context. In many contexts, you wouldn't say that.02br
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00Perhaps you would like to write a couple of sentences, or dialogues to set a context, whe
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0--- Thank you for your answer. In fact, I (a Japanese teacher teaching English) was asked by a student of mine if he could use "the thing" instead of "that /xDnbH it".02br
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00So I'd appreciate it if you show me the context or a set of sentences using "the thing". All right?0-
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0I hope you are not encouraging your student to start using phrases that, while theoretically grammatical, sound very unatural. 02br
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00We would normally use something rather than a thing or the thing in the contexts you have mentioned. 02br
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00Thing is a word that isn't used a lot. The main context I can think of is when we need to refer to a spec
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0-- I can't find the remote control.02br
00-- Well, it's got to be there somewhere.02br
00-- Well, where???!!! I can't find the **** thing!02br
01i00_____02i02br
00-- There's a thing on the table.02br
00-- What do mean -- a thing?02br
00-- A whatchamacallit. One of those thingies that you use to hold papers
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0Of course I don't mean to encouragie my student to do that. Anyway thank you for your example.0-
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0Hi. Thank you for your many examples.0-
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