that vs. the

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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navit
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that vs. the

Post by navit »

Which are correct:

1) They arrested that brother of Harry's who owns a pawn shop, not the one who owns a pizza parlor.
2) They arrested the brother of Harry's who owns a pawn shop, not the one who owns a pizza parlor.

3) They painted that door of the building that faces north, not the one that faces east.
4) They painted the door of the building that faces north, not the one that faces east.


The sentences in each pair are supposed to mean the same thing. In the ones with 'that' the speaker isn't supposed to be pointing to anything. 'That' is supposed to be there just to emphasize the idea of specificity. It is supposed to be an emphatic 'the', so to speak. I am not sure that works.

Gratefully,
Navi
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Alan
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Re: that vs. the

Post by Alan »

Yes, the sentences are all grammatical and each pair means the same.

Clearly, if you are identifying something or someone by means of a restrictive relative clause, you do not also need to point at it!
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