definitely, particular

[Hanka]

Hi,

could you please tell me whether the words "definitely" and "particular" are the right ones in the following sentence:

If you are able to definitely determine the particular person responsible for the fault, I will enforce the compensation by legal action.

Definitely = meaning that they are absolutely sure that that particular person is responsible and noone else.
Particular = meaning a concrete person

Thank you very much.

Hanka

[JSmiley]

The usage is perfect.

also

Paticular, meaning a specific person.

Regards,
Jesse

[BobK]

Originally Posted by Hanka

Hi,
could you please tell me whether the words "definitely" and "particular" are the right ones in the following sentence:
If you are able to definitely determine the particular person responsible for the fault, I will enforce the compensation by legal action.
Definitely = meaning that they are absolutely sure that that particular person is responsible and noone else.
Particular = meaning a concrete person
Thank you very much.
Hanka

I agree with Jesse that your usage is perfect. There's a range of possible alternatives for definitely (unarguably, irrefutably...) but I can think of only one for particular: specific (and I think, in this context, 'particular' is better).

Alternatively, you could replace 'to definitely determine the particular person' by 'to specify just who' (which is shorter, and won't provoke the few dinosaurs left who dislike split infinitves). But the original is fine.

b