| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 194.1 | dis and dat | QUARK::LIONEL | Ad Astra | Tue Sep 20 1988 13:01 | 13 |
| "These" is the plural of "this". "Those" is the plural of "That".
"This" implies something nearer than "that". My dictionary says
for "this":
1. The person or thing present, nearby or just mentioned.
2. What is about to be said.
3. The one that is nearer than another or the one compared
with the other.
Hope THESE definitions are helpful. Maybe THOSE in other replies
will also be useful.
Steve
|
| 194.2 | I'll try | VINO::EVANS | Never tip the whipper | Tue Sep 20 1988 13:03 | 22 |
| I'll take first crack, here, but I'm sure there's someone else
who can explain better.
"These" means fundamentally "This group of items right here".
So, "These candy bars in my hand are mine. Your candy bars are
those on the counter."
Unfortunately, the English language is just waiting around the
corner to confuse you. Thus, "these" can be used interchangeably
with "those", although I'm not sure if it's correct usage, or just
OK by custom. As in:
"These politicians drive me nuts."
AND
"Those politicians drive me nuts."
Can anybody else make this clearer?
|
| 194.3 | dese 'n' doze | VINO::EVANS | Never tip the whipper | Tue Sep 20 1988 13:07 | 13 |
| RE .1, .2
I *hate* when this happens.
Obviously, my "crack" wasn't first. Not only that, the *real* first
crack was better than my *imagined* first crack, so the better
explanation actually came BACKWARDS IN TIME. (Thank you, Steven
Wright)
These are the times when those things drive me nuts.
--DE
|
| 194.4 | | MOSAIC::TARBET | | Tue Sep 20 1988 13:13 | 12 |
| If the things being spoken about are near enough to be touched
(physically or metaphorically), use "these". If they are not near
enough to be touched, use "those".
Now, in the case of metaphorical distance, usually the speaker can
choose for herself whether she wants to construe the things as being
near at hand or away off elsewhere, the only real "rule" is that one
probably ought not to jerk them around ("those" in this sentence,
"these" in the next) unless there's a plausible contextual reason for
it.
=maggie
|
| 194.5 | Exactly what I needed! | SHIRE::BIZE | | Wed Sep 21 1988 05:05 | 12 |
| Thanks a lot for all these answers. I think I get the point, and
knowing that these/those can be interchangeable has relieved my
mind no end!
Yes, Dawn, it's also happened to me before, and it's made me feel
like screaming with frustration! Witness all the noters who think
they are answering to "-1" and have to enter a later note saying
that, in fact, they meant note such and such!
Thanks again!
Joana
|
| 194.6 | Try it this way | AKOV11::BOYAJIAN | That was Zen; this is Dao | Wed Sep 21 1988 06:30 | 7 |
| English German
this/these diese
that/those jene
--- jerry
|
| 194.7 | Mein Deutsch is just plain awful... | SHIRE::BIZE | | Wed Sep 21 1988 06:45 | 15 |
| Thanks Jerry, but I am French, so trying it in German could just
possibly make it more difficult ... !!!
The French equivalent, from the explanations I got, would probably
be:
English French
this/these ceci, ceux-ci
that/those cela, ceux-l�
Vielen Dank anyway!
Joana
|
| 194.8 | This is really going off topic... | AKOV11::BOYAJIAN | That was Zen; this is Dao | Wed Sep 21 1988 08:41 | 15 |
| Ah, well, I thought it was worth a shot since you're in
Switzerland. I figure that any Swiss resident had a good
shot at being reasonably fluent in both languages, but that
may well be a mistaken impression.
My French is probably worse than your German, though.
The phrase "je ne sais quois" is about the extent of it.
Bi-lingual joke:
Q: "What does 'je ne sais quois' mean?"
A: "I don't know. What?"
--- jerry
|
| 194.9 | Voila! | EDUHCI::WARREN | | Wed Sep 21 1988 15:14 | 6 |
| Re .7:
re your "translation chart": Yes, that's it exactly!
-Tracy
|
| 194.10 | | PIWACT::KLEINBERGER | Don't Worry, Be Happy | Thu Sep 22 1988 13:58 | 16 |
| From the HARPER'S Dictionary of Contemporary Usage (by William and
Mary Morris)
this/that/these/those (in place of articles) The substitution of
a demonstrative pronoun such as this for an article, as in "I once
knew this woman who loved to ski," is at best an informal usage.
A better wording would be "a woman who lived to ski." See also
some/a
some/a "Some woman came up to me and asked the way to the ferry
boat" is an informal way of indicating that the woman was unknown
or unidentified. Phrases such as "some woman" or "some man" should
not be used in formal speech or writing or, for that matter, at
any time by a careful user of the language. "A woman" or "A man"
is sufficient; otherwise the person should be identified by name
or description.
|