Timeline for 'On the table' versus 'on a little table'
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
12 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 hours ago | answer | added | DJClayworth | timeline score: 0 | |
| 6 hours ago | comment | added | Stuart F | Are they claiming "on the table" is a generic position? If you say something is "on the floor" or "on the wall", you're not necessarily referring to a specific floor, you're just saying it's at ground level or stuck to some wall somewhere. I'm not sure if "on the table" works quite the same (except metaphorically: if an offer is on the table, it means it's available). | |
| 6 hours ago | answer | added | TimR | timeline score: 0 | |
| 8 hours ago | answer | added | Lambie | timeline score: 0 | |
| 8 hours ago | comment | added | Canadian Yankee | I disagree with the author. The choice of "the" depends on whether the then the noun references is known to the listener, either from context or from a previous mention. There's no reason why the listener couldn't be aware of a little table, so it's fine to say "The book is on the little table," if you know the listener is aware of that particular little table. | |
| 8 hours ago | comment | added | snailontheslope | How would you reason about it? | |
| 8 hours ago | comment | added | snailontheslope | Why does the author contrasts those two sentences that form the pattern that should be learnt? | |
| 8 hours ago | comment | added | snailontheslope | I've read your answer. I guess that I understand it, but I'm still puzzled about the author's intention. Does he mean that the vase and the little table aren't known to another person? | |
| 8 hours ago | history | edited | snailontheslope | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
added 16 characters in body
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| 8 hours ago | comment | added | Lambie | Please see this answer of mine that was downvoted by someone who doesn't know or understand this: ell.stackexchange.com/questions/346533/… | |
| S 8 hours ago | review | First questions | |||
| 7 hours ago | |||||
| S 8 hours ago | history | asked | snailontheslope | CC BY-SA 4.0 |