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Teo Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

this

1. "You never have a good night's sleep," said Paul Begala, who was counselor to President Bill Clinton during the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. "You never have a peaceful meal. There's this gnawing in your gut."

2. There was this man, see, and he couldn't get up in the mornings. So he ...

Can anyone explain the meaning of this in the above two passages?

Thank you very much for your reply.
  

Top answer

This is an example of when "a" can be replaced with "this" in order to better illustrate something, such as when telling a story or retelling a past event. " All it does is add emphasis to the word that follows and draws the listener into your story/report/whatever.

— Erin Zale

  • This is an example of when "a" can be replaced with "this" in order to better illustrate something, such as when telling a story or retelling a past event.
  • " All it does is add emphasis to the word that follows and draws the listener into your story/report/whatever.
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3 Answers
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This is an example of when "a" can be replaced with "this" in order to better illustrate something, such as when telling a story or retelling a past event.

"There's this gnawing in your gut." = "There's a gnawing in your gut."
"There was this man, see..." = "There was a man, see..."

All it does is add emphasis to the word that
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Erin ZaleThis is an example of when "a" can be replaced with "this" in order to better illustrate something, such as when telling a story or retelling a past event.

"There's this gnawing in your gut." = "There's a gnawing in your gut."
"There was this man, see.
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Teo
Erin ZaleThis is an example of when "a" can be replaced with "this" in order to better illustrate something, such as when telling a story or retelling a past event.

"There's this gnawing in your gut." = "There's a gnawing in your gut."
"The
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