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--How do you find the baked bread on display?
--Well, delicious! But I don't think much of _______ you bought.
A. the one B. it C. that D. which
The given answer is 'that'.
What would native speakers think of this test question? Would 'the bread' be a better answer than just a 'that'?
Thank you in advance.
Yes. Have you looked at the date of publication of this test?
b
I would answer "the one."
Thank you a lot, moderator, and SoothingDave.Quote:
Originally Posted by BobK
It's a test in a newly published coaching newspaper for middle school students.
How about using 'that which' ?
And SoothingDave, your suggestion of 'the one'? surprised me. You are saying we are dealing with 'bread' here as a countable noun, aren't you, which means 'a kind of bread'?
Thank you both again.
I'd say "the one" as well. The "one" refers to the loaf.
There are many loaves and kinds of bread on display, I am assuming. This sentence refers to the one loaf that you bought.
"I don't think much of that you bought" sounds wrong to me. I'd never choose that.
Maybe "that which you bought" but "the one you bought" is best.
Hmm... that's odd. As others have said, 'the one' is best - because although there is a range of different types available in the shop, 'the' applies to one particular loaf, as Barb said.Quote:
Originally Posted by joham
Maybe it's a typo. My grandfather, long gone (born in the 19th century), would have answered C (and regarded 'the one' as a hideous neologism - he might have sent a letter of complaint to the Daily Telegraph, under the pseudonym 'Custos linguae') ;-)
b
PS A defence of 'that' - in a current-day speaker - would depend on heavy stress. 'I don't think much of that [that] you bought'. The stress makes 'that' into a demonstrative pronoun (meaning 'the one').