0

Suppose today is Wednesday. I saw 3 concerts consecutively in 3 days in the past with the detail is as follows: I saw the first concert on Sunday, the second was on Monday, and the last concert I saw was on Tuesday. (In total, I saw 3 concerts).

In the present (Wednesday), I tell someone about how I feel that I saw 3 concerts recently. I'm confused as to which one I should use between these two:

  1. I liked the concerts.
  2. I liked those concerts.

Let's say I don't usually like concerts in general, but I liked the/those 3 concerts.

1 Answer 1

1

Both are possible.

If you say those you are explicitly "pointing to" (not necessarily literally) the particular concerts.

If you say the concerts you are assuming that the hearer knows which concerts you mean: if you've already talked about them, the hearer will know, and it will make sense.

So if your last example is the beginning of a conversation, you almost certainly want to say those. But if your friend knew you were at them, you can probably get your meaning across with the.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .