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Tommy
Does "They have a pen" in English means there is only one pen for them?
Or does it means one pen for each of them?
3 sep. 2010 05:10
Antwoorden · 5
1
Yes. They are in possession of exactly one pen. But there might be another pen in existence. If there is no other pen nearby, you say "They have the pen." For multiple pens in their possession you could say "They each have a pen."
3 september 2010
(removed my comment)
4 september 2010
A simple sentence has a lot meaning,,~ how funny English is ~
4 september 2010
"A pen" is singular, so there is one pen to share between them.
"They have (some) pens" means there are several pens, but it's not clear if there are enough pens, or too many.
Christopher's example of "they each have a pen" means every person has their own pen. :)
4 september 2010
I think all of them have a one pen only !!
3 september 2010
Heb je je antwoorden nog steeds niet gevonden?
Schrijf je vragen op en laat de moedertaalsprekers je helpen!
Tommy
Taalvaardigheden
Chinees (Mandarijn), Engels, Koreaans
Taal die wordt geleerd
Engels, Koreaans
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