Timeline for “These days are over” vs. “those days are over”
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24, 2019 at 1:32 | comment | added | Sam Washburn | Also: "I bought a new pair of pants yesterday." "Plaid?" "No, these pants are green." | |
| Oct 23, 2019 at 17:47 | comment | added | David M | @NickMatteo Agreed. The key is that you're discussing them as if current or present (even if only in the mind). | |
| Oct 23, 2019 at 17:44 | comment | added | Nick Matteo | "These" can also be used for textual proximity. As in, "In the Abyssinian dynasty certain pants were reserved for exclusive use of the Emperor. These are the pants I shall now discuss." Or, closer to the OP, "In the past, some time periods were characterized by the dominance of the UK and France. These periods were also marked by...." Switch "periods" for "days" and you get the question. | |
| Oct 23, 2019 at 14:35 | comment | added | David M | @freedomn-m Yes. I agree. But adding mind you means that you're referring to the pants in question. As I said, it's folksy. I was trying to come up with an example where you could use these when something wasn't in physical proximity. Like jokes, sometimes it's all in the telling. | |
| Oct 23, 2019 at 14:33 | comment | added | fdomn-m | @DavidM sounds like you bought some pants yesterday, but the ones you're wearing are green. | |
| Oct 23, 2019 at 11:36 | comment | added | David M | @HaakonDahl Exactly. | |
| Oct 23, 2019 at 10:06 | comment | added | user191721 | @DavidM, I would think that "these" works in your example because we are now referring to the "closer" pair of pants than the desired brown ones, which would be "those" pants if the example were extended. I agree with what you said -- just pointing out an aspect. *IANAG | |
| Oct 22, 2019 at 22:49 | comment | added | David M | @Gilles I bought a pair of pants yesterday. These pants are green, mind you. But, I was looking for a pair of brown pants. It sounds a bit folksy, but these becomes permissible because we're calling them into the proximity of the mind for an example. Make sense? | |
| Oct 22, 2019 at 22:46 | comment | added | David M | @Gilles Nothing is impossible. But, I don't think I'd ever say it that way unless I was proximal to those pants. <---- Self-contained example. | |
| Oct 22, 2019 at 22:43 | comment | added | Gilles 'SO- stop being evil' | “I bought a new pair of pants yesterday. Th_se pants are green.” Would using these be impossible if the pants are currently in the wash? | |
| Oct 22, 2019 at 22:35 | history | answered | David M | CC BY-SA 4.0 |