the apples / apples / all the apples
the situation:
there are 5 apples on a table in my room.
a listener knows the situation.
but they haven't talked any about the apples, which means there isn't the case they have talked some specific apples in the apples before.
as what would the listener understand when I speak three sentences below?
(1) I ate the apples on my table.
(2) I ate all the apples on my table.
(3) I ate apples on my table.
★his understanding about (1) is:the speaker ate [all] the apples on his table and he less emphasized the sense of "all" in it than (2)
★his understanding about (2)is:the speaker ate all the apples on his table and literally he emphasized the sense of "all".
★his understanding about (3) is : the speaker ate some (2〜4)apples on his table. he didn't know yet how many of them were eaten but no doubt that maltiple apples less than 5(all) were eaten.
are these correct?
there are maybe other grammer mistakes since it's a set of my original sentences.
Search from various English teachers...
Answers · 4
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For the final sentence (I ate apples on my table) it sounds as if the speaker ate the apples while sitting on top of the table. An article or determiner will help clarify this, so I recommend using either number 1 or number 2 ^_^
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1. I ate the apples on my table. Yes, he ate all the apples.
2. I ate all the apples on my table. Yes, he has emphasized the fact.
3. I ate apples on my table. I would read that as "I ate apples on my table". "Jane ate pears on hers".
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