> 1-A poet and novelist walked into the theatre.
> 2-The poet and novelist walked into the theatre.
> Could either of these sentences be used if one were talking, not of two > people, but of the same person, who was both a poet and a novelist?
Yes, in (2), if it were already established who we were talking about. Theoretically also in (1), although I'd avoid the phrasing myself.
> On 15 Oct, 03:49, navi <lorca1...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> 1-A poet and novelist walked into the theatre.
>> 2-The poet and novelist walked into the theatre.
>> Could either of these sentences be used if one were talking, not of two people, but of the same person, who was both a poet and a novelist?
> Both imply only one person. "A poet and a novelist" implies two
> people, "the poet and the novelist" implies one person.
Lewis wrote:
> In message <d0c065f4-bc91-40cd-8e9c-425289619...@b8g2000yqh.googlegroups.com> > Harrison Hill <harrisonhill2...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 15 Oct, 03:49, navi <lorca1...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> 1-A poet and novelist walked into the theatre.
>>> 2-The poet and novelist walked into the theatre.
>>> Could either of these sentences be used if one were talking, not of two people, but of the same person, who was both a poet and a novelist?
>> Both imply only one person. "A poet and a novelist" implies two
>> people, "the poet and the novelist" implies one person.
> No, "the poet and the novelist" still is two people. If you want to
> imply a single person you have to drop the second article, "the poet and
> novelist..."
A woman who is going out with an officer and a gentleman may be two-timing.
>Lewis wrote:
>> In message <d0c065f4-bc91-40cd-8e9c-425289619...@b8g2000yqh.googlegroups.com> >> Harrison Hill <harrisonhill2...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 15 Oct, 03:49, navi <lorca1...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>> 1-A poet and novelist walked into the theatre.
>>>> 2-The poet and novelist walked into the theatre.
>>>> Could either of these sentences be used if one were talking, not of two people, but of the same person, who was both a poet and a novelist?
>>> Both imply only one person. "A poet and a novelist" implies two
>>> people, "the poet and the novelist" implies one person.
>> No, "the poet and the novelist" still is two people. If you want to
>> imply a single person you have to drop the second article, "the poet and
>> novelist..."
>A woman who is going out with an officer and a gentleman may be two-timing.
"Gentlemen, sweethearts and wives!"
"May they never meet!"
On Sun, 14 Oct 2012 19:49:24 -0700, navi wrote:
> 1-A poet and novelist walked into the theatre.
> 2-The poet and novelist walked into the theatre.
> Could either of these sentences be used if one were talking, not of two
> people, but of the same person, who was both a poet and a novelist?
In fact, as other posts have shown, the sentences each refer to but a single person.
The right use of articles is a deal trickier than it often seems. Wilson Follett, in his rather concise "Dictionary of Modern American Usage", which I much recommend (but not the Wensburg "revision") devotes, as best I recall, some eleven pages to the topic.
