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Taka Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
This/that
Yesterday I saw a man on TV eating a hamburger and say 'That's a good hamburger!' Why 'that' when he refers to the hamburger in hand? Why not 'this' instead?
Top answer
Hi, Interesting question. It seems to me that the use of 'that' places some feeling of figurative distance betwen the speaker and the object. You might say it gives a feeling of detachment, and focuses the attention of the viewer a little more on the object and a littlle less on the speaker.
- Hi, Interesting question.
- It seems to me that the use of 'that' places some feeling of figurative distance betwen the speaker and the object.
- You might say it gives a feeling of detachment, and focuses the attention of the viewer a little more on the object and a littlle less on the speaker.
- Clive
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16 Answers
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Hi,
Interesting question.
It seems to me that the use of 'that' places some feeling of figurative distance betwen the speaker and the object. You might say it gives a feeling of detachment, and focuses the attention of the viewer a little more on the object and a littlle less on t
Interesting question.
It seems to me that the use of 'that' places some feeling of figurative distance betwen the speaker and the object. You might say it gives a feeling of detachment, and focuses the attention of the viewer a little more on the object and a littlle less on t
00
Do you think the focus more on the object and less on the speaker was his intention? Or it's unintentional and subsidiary?
00
Hi,
You said you saw someone on TV. I assume you meant in an ad.
If so, TV ads are so expensive that I'm sure everything is planned carefully, including the choice of words.
You said you saw someone on TV. I assume you meant in an ad.
If so, TV ads are so expensive that I'm sure everything is planned carefully, including the choice of words.
00
It was not an ad. It was from a part of a TV program which introduced good restaurants. A regular at a hamburger restaurant, not an actor but just an ordinary guy, came into the restaurant, grabbed his favorite hamburger, and said 'That is a good hamburger.'
I don't think his words were scripted because the director of the program, I believe, was Japanese and I doubt he/she had such a goo
I don't think his words were scripted because the director of the program, I believe, was Japanese and I doubt he/she had such a goo
00
Hi,
I'd say 'this is . . . ', because of the close proximity. But if I had finished eating it, I'd say 'that was . . . '.
Clive
I'd say 'this is . . . ', because of the close proximity. But if I had finished eating it, I'd say 'that was . . . '.
Clive
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That's easy to understand.
But if my memory serves me correctly, he was about to eat it (or he was eating it. At least he didn't finish eating it), when he said 'That's a good hamburger'.
Hmm...
But if my memory serves me correctly, he was about to eat it (or he was eating it. At least he didn't finish eating it), when he said 'That's a good hamburger'.
Hmm...
00
Hi,
All I can say is that people do not usually think with great care about the word choices they make. They just speak.
Clive
All I can say is that people do not usually think with great care about the word choices they make. They just speak.
Clive
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Hi Taka,
Why did you use "that" in your statement "That's easy to understand."?
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I wouldn't rack my brain much about that adjectival modifier 'that' in the 'That's a good hamburger' .
"A good hamburger" is a subject in the sentence and the demonstrative adjective 'that', uttered by the speaker, gives some impression of a figurative dis
Why did you use "that" in your statement "That's easy to understand."?
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I wouldn't rack my brain much about that adjectival modifier 'that' in the 'That's a good hamburger' .
"A good hamburger" is a subject in the sentence and the demonstrative adjective 'that', uttered by the speaker, gives some impression of a figurative dis
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AnonymousHi Taka,Simply because it was not my statement but Clive's. It's not 'here' but 'there.'
Why did you use "that" in your statement "That's easy to understand."?
Anonymous
I wouldn't rack my brain much about that adjectival modifier 'that' in the 'That's a good hamburger' .
"A good hamburger" is
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