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Old 09-Jan-2004, 14:11
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Default Demonstrative adjectives

When referring to something that has no physical location (such as a set of rules), is it o.k. to use 'that' instead of 'this'? For example:

'That set of rules is now obsolete.' instead of 'This set of rules is now obsolete.'

Are there rules regarding this usage?

Many thanks,
L. Irvin
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Old 09-Jan-2004, 17:26
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Default Re: Demonstrative adjectives

Quote:
Originally Posted by lirvin1
When referring to something that has no physical location (such as a set of rules), is it o.k. to use 'that' instead of 'this'? For example:

'That set of rules is now obsolete.' instead of 'This set of rules is now obsolete.'

Are there rules regarding this usage?

Many thanks,
L. Irvin
I would say it depends upon the speaker and the perceived distance between them and the rules. If I were talking about old rules, I'd use that and this for something recent.
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