that splendid ten minutes

I'm a little bit puzzled by 5jj's response in this thread. Because I know that I shouldn't ask unrelated questions in the same thread, I decided to open a new one. I'm assuming that 5jj's sentence is correct.

5jj said:

But would you have missed that splendid ten minutes?

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Since "minutes" is plural, why isn't it "those" instead of "that"?

Thank you.

Chicken Sandwich said:

I'm a little bit puzzled by 5jj's response in this thread. Because I know that I shouldn't ask unrelated questions in the same thread, I decided to open a new one. I'm assuming that 5jj's sentence is correct.



Since "minutes" is plural, why isn't it "those" instead of "that"?

Thank you.

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"Those" could have been used but I think 5jj regarded it as "a period of ten minutes", where "a period" is singular. The use of "that" didn't jump off the screen at me.

Ten minutes is not a long time.

Once again, I am thinking of 'ten minutes' as a period of time.

I'm assuming that 5jj's sentence is correct.

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I am arrogant enough to believe that I don't make many mistakes, apart from the typso that plauge my psots.

However, please don't assume that those of us who respond regularly are incapable of mistakes. We are simply giving our opinions. The fact that many of us have been teaching and/or writing for many years does not mean that we are perfect. I have used the several times since I joined the forum in posts in which I have apologised for an infelicity or solecism.

emsr2d2 said:

The use of "that" didn't jump off the screen at me.

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It didn't read strangely to me.

5jj said:

Ten minutes is not a long time.

Once again, I am thinking of 'ten minutes' as a period of time.

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This way of using "that" seems new to me. Are there other contexts in which both "that" and "those" can be used? For example, are the following sentences correct?

1) But would you have missed that 40 pounds? (Here I'm regarding "40 pounds" as "money".)
2) But would you have missed that 20 litres of water? (Here I'm regarding "20 litres of water" as "amount of water".)

Chicken Sandwich said:

1) But would you have missed that 40 pounds? (Here I'm regarding "40 pounds" as "money".)
2) But would you have missed that 20 litres of water? (Here I'm regarding "20 litres of water" as "amount of water".)

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Both of those are fine.