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sumiflower
One from the other
I was translating Japanese sentences into English now, though there's one thing I can't understand, so I will ask you :) I would be very happy if you could kindly answer my question.
The thing I could not understand was...
"Those umbrellas were so much alike that it was impossible to distinguish one from the other."
Why you don't use the before one in this sentence?
I mean like "the one from the other".
English is sometime so confusing for me...:) :P
Aug 19, 2011 12:10 PM
Answers · 6
You can use either:
one from the other
the one from the other
Both are OK.
August 19, 2011
This is because "one" is not specific, and "the one" is specific. That is, when you say "one from the other" you mean that you cannot tell the difference between ANY two umbrellas in the group. This most likely means there are more than two umbrellas.
If you say "the one from the other" is more specific. It sounds as if you are speaking about only two umbrellas; that is, "the one" and "the other". However if you are only speaking about two umbrellas, you could certainly use "the one from the other".
August 19, 2011
”the”あるの時、”the one”は”特別”の意味をある。例の意味の中でその傘は”特別”ではありわせん。”one”は十分だ。
August 30, 2011
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sumiflower
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English, Hebrew, Japanese
Learning Language
Chinese (Mandarin), English, Hebrew
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