# Sean is going to ... 'the' bag he bought in Japan



## HSS

Hi, does the first sentence sound so peculiar if uttered out of the blue? Does it require something like "Sean bought a bag in Japan" to be said before it to sound natural? If you had to come right out and say it, should you use [2] to sound natural?

[1] Sean is going to give his brother the bag he bought in Japan.
[2] Sean is going to give his brother a bag he bought in Japan.


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## LV4-26

[1] is fine to me. 
The bag is defined by the relative clause that follows.


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## Ral.G

"The bag" if he bought just one, "a bag" if be bought more.


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## HSS

Thanks, LV4-26 and Ral.G.

Let me rephrase my question:

In 1) the bag is not touched upon before, but in 2) it is. Which dialog sounds more natural?

1)
A: Did Sean buy his brother any souvenir?
B: He is going to give his brother the bag he bought in Tokyo. He didn't have time to buy souvenirs but he decided he is going to give it to James.
==========================
2)
B: Sean bought a bag in Japan for himself. He went to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Okayama and back to Tokyo. He didn't have time to buy souvenirs ... Oh, but, you know, he decided he is going to give his brother the bag he bought in Tokyo.


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## Myridon

The second 1B  is very confusing (as is re-using numbers in your posts ). Who is James?  What is it? (If the bag is not a souvenir, there's no reason to give a piece of luggage to anyone so the bag isn't "it".)


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## HSS

Hi, Myridon.

You're right. I read it again. It sure is strange. Let me re-write it.

1)
A: Did Sean buy his brother any souvenir?
B: He didn't have much time to shop during the trip but he decided he is going to give his brother the bag he bought in Tokyo. ['The bag' is mentioned, or implied, by anyone for the very first time here]


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## Ral.G

HSS said:


> 1)
> A: Did Sean buy his brother any souvenir?
> B: He is going to give his brother the bag he bought in Tokyo. He didn't have time to buy souvenirs but he decided he is going to give it to James.
> ==========================
> 2)
> B: Sean bought a bag in Japan for himself.  He went to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Okayama and back to Tokyo. He didn't  have time to buy souvenirs ... Oh, but, you know, he decided he is going  to give his brother the bag he bought in Tokyo.


In this context in (1) it should be "*a* bag" (since the bag was never mentioned before), in (2) you need to make some changes:

B: Sean found a bag he liked in Tokyo and bought it for himself.  During his stay in Japan, he went from Tokyo to Osaka, Kyoto, Okayama and back to Tokyo again. He didn't  have time to buy souvenirs ... Oh... but, you know, he decided to give his brother the bag he bought there.


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## Chasint

Ral.G said:


> In this context in (1) it should be "*a* bag" (since the bag was never mentioned before), in (2) you need to make some changes:
> 
> B: Sean found a bag he liked in Tokyo and bought it for himself.  During his stay in Japan, he went from Tokyo to Osaka, Kyoto, Okayama and back to Tokyo again. He didn't  have time to buy souvenirs ... Oh... but, you know, he decided to give his brother the bag he bought there.


Agreed


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## Myridon

I still find it a logical conundrum that he bought a bag which was suitable for use as a souvenir when he didn't buy any souvenirs for himself or anyone else, but I suppose that is outside the purview of this forum.


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## Ral.G

Myridon said:


> I still find it a logical conundrum that he bought a bag which was suitable for use as a souvenir when he didn't buy any souvenirs for himself or anyone else, but I suppose that is outside the purview of this forum.


The bag is not a souvenir. Or, at least, it doesn't have to be considered one - if you see an (useful) item you like, you'll buy it regardless of where you are at the time. If you damaged your shoes, you'd need a new pair - would they be a souvenir too?


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## HSS

I've amended the dialogs drastically as per your recommendations. Going back to my primary questions, you would choose 'a' here, wouldn't you?

3-1) (_The bag has not been mentioned or implied at all_)
A: Did Shannon buy her brother, James, any gift from Japan?
B: She is going to give him the Louis Vuitton bag she bought in Tokyo. She didn't have time to buy gifts for anybody else. She went to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Okayama and back to Tokyo in a few days, visiting her business associates. So she didn't have time to do much else.

3-2 (_The bag has not been mentioned or implied at all_)
A: Did Shannon buy her brother, James, any gift from Japan?
B: She is going to give him a Louis Vuitton bag she bought in Tokyo. She didn't have time to buy gifts for anybody else. She went to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Okayama and back to Tokyo in a few  days, visiting her business associates. So she didn't have time to do  much else.


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## lucas-sp

Either 3-1 or 3-2 is fine. 

In both of these cases, the clause "(that) she bought in Tokyo" is probably non-defining. And there's the presumed context of "everything she bought in Japan," and in that set we could either find "the bag" we're talking about or "a bag" among the other purchases.


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## HSS

lucas-sp said:


> Either 3-1 or 3-2 is fine.
> 
> In both of these cases, the clause "(that) she bought in Tokyo" is probably non-defining. And there's the presumed context of "everything she bought in Japan," and in that set we could either find "the bag" we're talking about or "a bag" among the other purchases.



Good morning, Lucas.

You mean:

3-1) (_The bag has not been mentioned or implied at all_)
A: Did Shannon buy her brother, James, any gift from Japan?
B: She is going to give him the Louis Vuitton bag she bought in Tokyo (from among things she bought in Japan).  She didn't have time to buy gifts for anybody else. She went to Tokyo,  Osaka, Kyoto, Okayama and back to Tokyo in a few days, visiting her  business associates. So she didn't have time to do much else.

?


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## lucas-sp

> 3-1) (_The bag has not been mentioned or implied at all_)
> A: Did Shannon buy her brother, James, any gift from Japan?
> B: She is going to give him the Louis Vuitton bag she bought in Tokyo


Since A asks the question and mentions the idea of "things bought in Japan," the clause "she bought in Tokyo" doesn't necessarily add any vital new information to the definition but instead just gives some additional precisions. So in that case B could use either "the" or "a."

In the original question, there was no such context:





> [1] Sean is going to give his brother the bag he bought in Japan.
> [2] Sean is going to give his brother a bag he bought in Japan.


In that case "the" strongly means that Sean only bought one bag in Japan and "a" does not (either Sean bought multiple bags in Japan or the speaker just isn't emphasizing how many bags Sean bought).


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## HSS

lucas-sp said:


> Since A asks the question and mentions the idea of "things bought in Japan," the clause "she bought in Tokyo" doesn't necessarily add any vital new information to the definition but instead just gives some additional precisions. So in that case B could use either "the" or "a."
> 
> [...]


Hi, Lucas. That's exactly what I mean. A's question, "Did Shannon buy her brother, James, any gift from Japan?," vaguely cast the supposition that she purchased at least a thing in Japan over B's utterance.

What do you think of the conversation below, where the supposition is removed. Could you still use 'the'?
(3-3)
A: Hi, B.
B: Hi, A. Shannon's just come back from Japan. Did you know that?
A: Oh, I didn't even know she went over there.
B: Yes, she did. His brother, James, is lucky. She is going to give him the Louis Vuitton bag she bought in Tokyo.


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## lucas-sp

You can still use "the" in 3-3. Of course, you can also use "a," and "a" might be more natural in that context.


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## HSS

lucas-sp said:


> You can still use "the" in 3-3. Of course, you can also use "a," and "a" might be more natural in that context.


Is it because you may well think people buy a thing on a trip? Or, is it simply because there is the clause 'she bought in Tokyo' is there?


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## lucas-sp

HSS said:


> Or, is it simple because there is the clause 'she bought in Tokyo' is there?


Exactly. That clause _can_ be a defining clause. And thus we get "the bag she bought in Tokyo" (not any bag, _the_ bag she bought in Tokyo).

In everyday speech we would say ".... bag she bought in Tokyo" to mean both "the bag that she bought in Tokyo" and "a bag, which she bought in Tokyo." In more formal writing and speech we're more careful about distinguishing between kinds of relative clauses.


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## HSS

lucas-sp said:


> Exactly. That clause _can_ be a defining clause. And thus we get "the bag she bought in Tokyo" (not any bag, _the_ bag she bought in Tokyo).


Thanks, Lucas. Then, how come you wouldn't say 'This is *the* book she bought in the mall yesterday' where there is no mention or implication of the book prior to this sentence, and would most likely say 'This is *a* book she bought in the mall yesterday' if 'that she bought in Tokyo' in the case of the Louis Vuitton bag can be defining enough?

Sorry, Lucas, I may be bombarding tricky questions on you.


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## lucas-sp

I just don't agree with your premises.





> how come you *wouldn't* say 'This is *the* book she bought in the mall yesterday' where there is no mention or implication of the book prior to this sentence


I would easily say that. Pointing to _one book_ is enough context.





> *would* most likely say 'This is *a* book she bought in the mall yesterday' if 'that she bought in Tokyo' in the case of the Louis Vuitton bag can be defining enough


I probably wouldn't say that, unless she bought multiple books.

I'm showing you the book ("This is..."), so you know there's a book. Things are different in the case of "She's giving her sister a book she bought in the mall yesterday" - then "a" is more natural, because I'm not already gesturing towards a book.


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## HSS

I see, Lucas .... I've been thinking unless you mention that she bought a book in the mall yesterday, or something to that effect, and, say, someone asks you which one it is, you wouldn't say 'This is the book she bought in the mall yesterday.'


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## lucas-sp

Not at all! Just by saying "this" (or "that," or even "the") you _create_ the context of pointing to a specific book/bag/whatever. One famous example is the first line of Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess":





> That's my last Duchess painted on the wall,
> Looking as if she were alive.  I call
> That piece a wonder, now: Fra Pandolf's hands
> Worked busily a day, and there she stands.


The first word of the poem is "that," so the reader immediately imagines the Duke _pointing to a specific painting_​.


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## HSS

lucas-sp said:


> [...]
> I'm showing you the book ("This is..."), so you know there's a book. Things are different in the case of "She's giving her sister a book she bought in the mall yesterday" - then "a" is more natural, because I'm not already gesturing towards a book.


By this, do you mean you wouldn't say 'She's giving her sister the book she bought in the mall yesterday' unless you have already given context, such as 'Jane went to the mall yesterday and on impulse bought a book Bob Greene wrote'?


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## lucas-sp

HSS said:


> By this, do you mean you wouldn't say 'She's giving her sister the book she bought in the mall yesterday' unless you have already given context?


No. Either "a" or "the" would be fine in that sentence.

I think of it this way: To me, "a" is completely natural and unsurprising. What is she giving her sister? "A" book. But what if you want to be more precise? You can tell me _which_ book by saying "the" particular book. 

The word "the" creates its own context. It itself tells me that you're specifying a book.


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## LV4-26

Shifting from _the_ to _a_ changes the way the speaker looks at _the book_ but doesn't make any difference to the listener. 
It changes the speaker's point of view on his/her own sentence.

_She's giving her sister a book she bought in the mall yesterday_
Here, we clearly have two pieces of information, dealt with separately.
1. that she bought a book
2. that she gave it to her sister.

_She's giving her sister the book she bought in the mall yesterday
_Here, it sounds rather like the two elements are 'merged' into one single piece of information.


Only a gut feeling.


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## HSS

I'm still struggling with this issue. Just to make sure I'm getting there, I made up a dialog with the sentence 'This is a/the book I bought at the mall.' Which article sounds more natural to you? Or, is one or the other eliminated?
Susan: Hi, Jane. How are you?

Jane: Hi, Susan. Good. How are you?

Susan: I'm great! I called you yesterday afternoon around three but you were not there. Were you out?

Jane: Sorry, I was up at the Lakewood mall shopping. ... (She suddenly starts talking about a book she has never mentioned, touched upon, or implied in any way) Hey, look, this is a/the book I bought at the mall. I took a liking to it as soon as I read the first few sentences of the first chapter in the bookstore.

Susan: Yeah, I know, I can tell, Jane. This is the first time I've heard the book, but by just looking at your expression, I know you took a shine to it.​


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## lucas-sp

This dialogue has much more a sense of "introducing a new thing." So, for me, "a" is more natural than "the."

In my part of the world, you will probably hear something like "Hey, look - this is *this* book I bought at the mall" in this context.

I don't have a rule to offer you. This might be one of the things that you only learn by living in an English-speaking country for a few years. It's about feel and intuition - does it feel like I'm introducing _a_ new thing, or _the _​new thing that we're talking about? It probably also depends on your age, your social group, your geographic location... In other words, I think this might be a question of idiolect, and not of dialect.


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## HSS

Thanks, Lucas. The coast is getting clearer.



lucas-sp said:


> [...]
> 
> In my part of the world, you will probably hear something like "Hey, look - this is *this* book I bought at the mall" in this context.
> 
> [...]


I'm familiar with this use of 'this,' having lived in Southern California for a little bit. What I heard and what I would use is such like 'I met this girl at the party who was so super at math.' Wouldn't 'this' sound a little awkward after the first 'this'? (As I'm going on a tangent, I will set up another thread on this)

Hiro


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## lucas-sp

Not really, because "this is" combines into one unit that you don't really notice or pick up on. You could also say "Here's this book..."

Basically, this issue of choosing between "a" or "the" is an issue for native speakers too!


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## Forero

HSS said:


> I'm still struggling with this issue. Just to make sure I'm getting there, I made up a dialog with the sentence 'This is a/the book I bought at the mall.' Which article sounds more natural to you? Or, is one or the other eliminated?
> Susan: Hi, Jane. How are you?
> 
> Jane: Hi, Susan. Good. How are you?
> 
> Susan: I'm great! I called you yesterday afternoon around three but you were not there. Were you out?
> 
> Jane: Sorry, I was up at the Lakewood mall shopping. ... (She suddenly starts talking about a book she has never mentioned, touched upon, or implied in any way) Hey, look, this is a/the book I bought at the mall. I took a liking to it as soon as I read the first few sentences of the first chapter in the bookstore.
> 
> Susan: Yeah, I know, I can tell, Jane. This is the first time I've heard the book, but by just looking at your expression, I know you took a shine to it.​


To me it makes a difference whether the noun phrase in question is a direct object or a subject complement. I would not use the in this context, but in the original sentence I might use _a_ or _the_.

By the way, I see all these relative clauses without relative pronouns as restrictive (i.e. defining) modifiers, and I share LV4-26's gut feeling. Somehow the definite article lets us summarize information, but with the indefinite article we seem to be explicitly separating bits of information. I notice that using _the_ allows me to simplify the tense in the relative clause as if the event in the relative clause had been mentioned first:

_I bought the book I saw at the mall the day before._
(like "I saw a book at the mall, and I bought it the next day." [not "had seen"])

_I bought a book I had seen at the mall the day before._
(like "I bought a book. I had seen it at the mall the day before." [not "saw"])


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## HSS

Hi, Forero. Good to see you again.

How are you?



Forero said:


> [...]
> 
> By the way, I see all these relative clauses without relative pronouns as restrictive (i.e. defining) modifiers, [...]



Wouldn't this mean you should use 'the' as the clauses are restrictive (i.e. defining = specifying)?

As always, thanks, Forero.


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## LV4-26

(a)_ Hey, look, this is a__ book I bought at the mall_

(b)_ Hey, look, this is the book I bought at the mall

_
In the proposed context, I'd expect (a) rather than (b).
However, (b) isn't totally impossible. If I heard it, I'd get the (vague) impression that Jane went to the mall for the sole purpose of buying that specific book.


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## Forero

HSS said:


> Hi, Forero. Good to see you again.
> 
> How are you?
> 
> Wouldn't this mean you should use 'the' as the clauses are restrictive (i.e. defining = specifying)?
> 
> As always, thanks, Forero.


Hi, HSS. I'm fine, but much busier than before.

No, either type of article can be used with either type of modifier:

_Sean is going to give his brother a bag, which he bought in Japan._ [indefinite article, nonrestrictive modifier]
= "Sean is going to give a bag to his brother. By the way, he bought the bag in question in Japan."

_Sean is going to give his brother the bag, which he bought in Japan._ [definite article, nonrestrictive modifier]
= "Sean is going to give the previously mentioned bag to his brother. By the way, he bought it in Japan."

_Sean is going to give his brother a bag he bought in Japan._ [indefinite article, restrictive modifier]
= "Sean is going to give his brother a bag; in particular, one he bought in Japan."
= "[1] Sean bought one or more bags in Japan, and [2] he is giving it, or one of them, to his brother."

_Sean is going to give his brother the bag he bought in Japan._ [definite article, restrictive modifier]
= "Sean is going to give his brother the Japanese-bought bag we have mentioned (or the Japanese-bought bag you know about)."
or = "Sean bought a bag in Japan and is going to give it to his brother."

This last "translation" is for the "merged" meaning we are discussing.





LV4-26 said:


> (a)_ Hey, look, this is a__ book I bought at the mall_
> 
> (b)_ Hey, look, this is the book I bought at the mall
> 
> _
> In the proposed context, I'd expect (a) rather than (b).
> However, (b) isn't totally impossible. If I heard it, I'd get the (vague) impression that Jane went to the mall for the sole purpose of buying that specific book.


I don't see that. The impression I get here is that the book was somehow known to both parties before the sentence was spoken, in contradiction to the context given.


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## HSS

Forero said:


> To me it makes a difference whether the noun phrase in question is a direct object or a subject complement. I would not use the in this context, but in the original sentence I might use _a_ or _the_.
> [...]



I've been pondering on Foreo's the direct-object subject-complement difference. I presume for A1 (subject complement) the tendency would be you always use 'a.' For A2 (direct object, not showing the book) you may use 'the' with a very small chance, and For A3 (direct object, showing it) you may use 'the' more than in A2. What do you think? (Do the conditions '_Susan doesn’t know what Jane is referring to at all when Jane mentions the book_' and _'Jane is showing the book_' contradict?)



> Susan:    Hi, Jane. How are you?
> Jane:      Hi, Susan. Good. How are you?
> Susan:    I'm great! I called you yesterday afternoon around three but you were not there. Were you out?
> Jane:      Sorry, I was up at the Lakewood Mall. ...
> _[She suddenly starts talking about a book she has never mentioned, touched upon, or implied in any way. Susan doesn’t know what Jane is referring to at all when Jane mentions the book]_
> A1 to A3             I took a liking to it as soon as I read the first few sentences in the bookstore.
> Susan:    Yeah, I know, I can tell, Jane. This is the first time I've heard the book, but by just looking at your expression, I know you took a shine to it.





> A1 Hey, look, this is a/the book I bought at the mall.
> 
> a: 5 always   4 often   3 sometimes   2 rarely   1 never
> the: 5 always   4 often   3 sometimes   2 rarely   1 never





> A2 Hey, look, I brought you a/the book I bought at the mall.
> [Jane is NOT showing the book, and it is NOT in Susan’s sight]
> 
> a: 5 always   4 often   3 sometimes   2 rarely   1 never
> the: 5 always   4 often   3 sometimes   2 rarely   1 never


 


> A3 Hey, look, I brought you a/the book I bought at the mall.
> [Jane is showing the book]
> 
> a: 5 always   4 often   3 sometimes   2 rarely   1 never
> the: 5 always   4 often   3 sometimes   2 rarely   1 never


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## Forero

Hi, HSS.

A1, A2, A3: _A_ always OK. _The_ does not fit. _This_ would fit in A3 but not in A1.

It makes a difference when you use 1st and 2nd person. "Sean brought his brother the book he bought at the mall" would be fine. It tells a whole story at once:

_Sean went to the mall_ (or _to Japan_)_._
_He bought a book_ (or _bag_)_ there._
_He brought_ (or _gave_)_ it to his brother._

This is interesting, and I don't know all the "rules" for it.

Why does it matter whether the noun phrase in question is a subject complement, or whether the people involved are all 3rd person? I think it has something to do with the issue of what is new information and what is already fixed. When I say "This is ..." or "I brought you ...", you are finding out now about the existence of such a book or bag, but when I say "Sean brought his brother ...", his brother is not finding out about its existence now.

The defining relative clause is also important. _The_ does not work without it.


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## HSS

Forero said:


> Hi, HSS.
> 
> A1, A2, A3: _A_ always OK. _The_ does not fit. _This_ would fit in A3 but not in A1.
> 
> It makes a difference when you use 1st and 2nd person. "Sean brought his brother the book he bought at the mall" would be fine. It tells a whole story at once:
> 
> _Sean went to the mall_ (or _to Japan_)_._
> _He bought a book_ (or _bag_)_ there._
> _He brought_ (or _gave_)_ it to his brother._
> 
> This is interesting, and I don't know all the "rules" for it.
> 
> Why does it matter whether the noun phrase in question is a subject complement, or whether the people involved are all 3rd person? I think it has something to do with the issue of what is new information and what is already fixed. When I say "This is ..." or "I brought you ...", you are finding out now about the existence of such a book or bag, but when I say "Sean brought his brother ...", his brother is not finding out about its existence now.
> 
> The defining relative clause is also important. _The_ does not work without it.



Interesting!!

So if it's 'Hey, you know, Bob brought his sister a/the book he bought in Japan,' then you would choose 'the,' but most likely 'a'?

P.S. 
Do the conditions '_Susan doesn’t know what Jane is referring to at all when Jane mentions the book_' and _'Jane is showing the book_' contradict in my last post?

Edit: 'I've been pondering on Foreo's the direct-object subject-complement difference' in my last post had one too many 'the' in front of 'direct-object'!


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## velisarius

Re post #34, where Susan is completely unaware of Jane having bought a book, I would most naturally use: 
1- "Look at this book I bought at the mall." If forced to choose between a/the, I would say "Look, this is a book I bought at the mall."

2.- Not showing the book, so: "By the way, I've brought you a book I bought at the mall."

3. Jane is showing the book, so: "Look, I've brought you a book I bought at the mall." 

In other words, I wouldn't naturally talk about "the book" if I knew Susan has no idea that I've bought one or had the intention of buying one. I don't see a contradiction when Jane shows the book as she speaks. (Though when showing the book we might more naturally talk about "this book" anyway.) 

If Jane left the book lying around and she doesn't know whether Susan has seen it, she might still ask "Have you seen *the* book I bought at the mall?"


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## Forero

velisarius said:


> [...]
> If Jane left the book lying around and she doesn't know whether Susan has seen it, she might still ask "Have you seen *the* book I bought at the mall?"


The indefinite article _a_ would not fit in this case. The meaning is something like "I bought a book at the mall. Have you seen a book that as far as you know is probably that one?"


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## velisarius

I don't think that's necessarily so, Forero.
I think by saying "Have you seen", or "Did you see the book I bought at the mall?", she is saying "I bought a book at the mall, and left it lying around. Did you happen to notice it?"


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## Forero

velisarius said:


> I don't think that's necessarily so, Forero.
> I think by saying "Have you seen", or "Did you see the book I bought at the mall?", she is saying "I bought a book at the mall, and left it lying around. Did you happen to notice it?"


That makes more sense.

What I was trying to say is that somehow a sentence to the effect that I bought a book at the mall and a question asking if you saw it can be fused together using _the_, and I don't think "Did you see a book I bought at the mall?" would be natural at all. Which type of article, definite or indefinite, fits depends somehow on the whole context:

_This is a book I bought at the mall._ [_The_ does not work in this sentence unless the book has been mentioned before.]
_Sean brought his brother the book he bought at the mall._ [_A_ works in this sentence, and _the_ works even if the book has not been mentioned before.]
_Have you seen the book I bought at the mall?_ [_The_ works here, even if the book has not been mentioned before, but in this case _a_ does not fit.]

What determines whether _the_, _a_(_n_), or both can fit a given sentence? I think I have a "feel" for it, but I don't yet have a complete explanation.


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## MikeLynn

Forero said:


> That makes more sense.
> 
> What I was trying to say is that somehow a sentence to the effect that I bought a book at the mall and a question asking if you saw it can be fused together using _the_, and I don't think _*"Did you see a book I bought at the mall?"*_ would be natural at all. Which type of article, definite or indefinite, fits depends somehow on the whole context:
> 
> _This is a book I bought at the mall._ [_The_ does not work in this sentence unless the book has been mentioned before.]
> _Sean brought his brother the book he bought at the mall._ [_A_ works in this sentence, and _the_ works even if the book has not been mentioned before.]
> _Have you seen the book I bought at the mall?_ [_The_ works here, even if the book has not been mentioned before, but in this case _a_ does not fit.]
> 
> What determines whether _the_, _a_(_n_), or both can fit a given sentence? I think I have a "feel" for it, but I don't yet have a complete explanation.



Dear Forero, although I'm not a native speaker, I don't find _*"Did you see a book I bought at the mall?"*_ natural, either. However, if you tried to say that you'd bought more books at the mall, I am curious if the wording might have passed or you would prefer "*one of the books that..* or "*any of the books that...*_*?"*_ or if there would be a better way of expressing this. Thank you very much for your suggestions.
M&L


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## Forero

MikeLynn said:


> Dear Forero, although I'm not a native speaker, I don't find _*"Did you see a book I bought at the mall?"*_ natural, either. However, if you tried to say that you'd bought more books at the mall, I am curious if the wording might have passed or you would prefer "*one of the books that..* or "*any of the books that...*_*?"*_ or if there would be a better way of expressing this. Thank you very much for your suggestions.
> M&L


I think I would go with "Did you see any of the books I bought ...?".

I realize you would have to guess, not being a native English speaker, but can you explain why _a book I bought at the mall_ fits with "This is" and "Sean brought his brother" but not with "Did you see"?


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## MikeLynn

Thanks a lot Forero, I really felt most comfortable about that, too. Good to know that my guess was a pretty good one  M&L


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## HSS

velisarius said:


> [...] I don't see a contradiction when Jane shows the book as she speaks. (Though when showing the book we might more naturally talk about "this book" anyway.) [...]


Hi, velisarius. Thanks. Good to know you think there is no contradiction. Maybe I should have asked this in a different thread as this is an aside. I'll put it up.

Thanks!


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