Well, I'm not sure they all have obvious answers. :) But yeah, like the Ender Teaches People The Meaning Of Christmas, something clearly motivated me to post.
(I could have a followup. Who is the most likely to own the yarn, who is most likely to own the twenty boxes of comic books, and who is most likely to own the circular saw...?)
"the" is a perfectly reasonable word to use for "the only one in the circumstance described." There was only one beer tap in the car; there is only one WNPCF shampoo in the bathroom; there is only one American flag in the house. I do not suggest that there is only one flag in existence, any more than I suggest that there is only one car in existence. :)
I don't disagree, but you do know that the phrase "the American flag" is also used to refer to a unique abstract entity in a manner that "the beer tap" or "the shampoo" does not.
Well, I suppose if your answer would be different if I was asking about who is more likely to own the abstract concept of the flag, you can pick one for each. :)
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branchandroot
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Date: 2008-10-02 02:46 am (UTC)(I could have a followup. Who is the most likely to own the yarn, who is most likely to own the twenty boxes of comic books, and who is most likely to own the circular saw...?)
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Date: 2008-10-02 12:20 pm (UTC)But yeah, it's not at all obvious who would a priori be the most likely to own an American flag (let alone the American flag).
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Date: 2008-10-02 01:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-03 02:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-03 02:49 am (UTC)