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Old 28-May-2004, 20:49
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1-His new article about life in his hometown came out yesterday.
2-His new article describing life in his hometown came out yesterday.

In which case we do we have:
a-He has necessarily written articles about life in his hometown before.
and in which case:
b-His new article is about life in his hometown but we don't know whether he has written about that before.
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Old 28-May-2004, 20:54
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Quote:
Originally Posted by navi tasan
1-His new article about life in his hometown came out yesterday.
2-His new article describing life in his hometown came out yesterday.

In which case we do we have:
a-He has necessarily written articles about life in his hometown before.
and in which case:
b-His new article is about life in his hometown but we don't know whether he has written about that before.
Sorry, I can't make that differentiation based purely on "about" versus "describing".
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Old 28-May-2004, 21:07
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The question was phrased very badly. I have to apologize.

I think, and as usual, I am not sure, both sentences mean a, or else we would have a
comma.

1-1-His new article about life in his hometown came out yesterday.
as opposed to:
1'-His new article, about life in his hometown, came out yesterday.


And:
2-His new article describing life in his hometown came out yesterday.
as opposed to:
2'-His new article, describing life in his hometown, came out yesterday.


It seems to me that in 1 and 2 he has written articles about (describing) his hometown before; while in 1' and 2' all we know is that his new article is about (describes) his hometown.
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Old 28-May-2004, 21:11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by navi tasan
The question was phrased very badly. I have to apologize.

I think, and as usual, I am not sure, both sentences mean a, or else we would have a
comma.

1-1-His new article about life in his hometown came out yesterday.
as opposed to:
1'-His new article, about life in his hometown, came out yesterday.


And:
2-His new article describing life in his hometown came out yesterday.
as opposed to:
2'-His new article, describing life in his hometown, came out yesterday.


It seems to me that in 1 and 2 he has written articles about (describing) his hometown before; while in 1' and 2' all we know is that his new article is about (describes) his hometown.
I see your point, but I would still hesitate to jump to that conclusion. In both cases, "his new article" might suggest that he has written about something before, but I'm not sure I would say that we know the previous subject in either case.
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Old 28-May-2004, 21:31
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Thanks. I get it:
Does the same apply to "wh" clauses? Is this sentence correct:
1-His new wife who is a chain smoker coughs a lot.
(Assuming he has only one new wife).
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Old 28-May-2004, 21:32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by navi tasan
Thanks. I get it:
Does the same apply to "wh" clauses? Is this sentence correct:
1-His new wife who is a chain smoker coughs a lot.
(Assuming he has only one new wife).
Because there is usually one "new" wife, I would put that clause in commas.
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Old 28-May-2004, 21:39
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Thanks a lot Mike. It was almost like talking to you. Cheers.
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Old 28-May-2004, 22:03
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Quote:
Originally Posted by navi tasan
Thanks a lot Mike. It was almost like talking to you. Cheers.
I like talking to you, Navi. :wink:
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Old 28-May-2004, 22:12
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So do I.
(In my language that would mean I too like talking to myself! But I think in English, it has the meaning I want it to have here.)
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Old 28-May-2004, 22:44
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  • Mike: I like talking to you, Navi.
    Navi: I also like talking to you.

If Navi says "So do I" it might indeed mean that Navi likes talking to Navi.

:wink:
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