Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site rlvd.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!mcvax!ukc!warwick!rlvd!drg From: drg@rlvd.UUCP (Duncan Gibson) Newsgroups: net.nlang Subject: Re: English Dialect, as seen by Americans Message-ID: <408@rlvd.UUCP> Date: Thu, 16-May-85 03:12:07 EDT Article-I.D.: rlvd.408 Posted: Thu May 16 03:12:07 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 19-May-85 04:33:16 EDT Reply-To: drg@rlvd.UUCP (Duncan Gibson) Organization: Rutherford Appleton Laboratories, Atlas Buildings, U.K. Lines: 18 Xpath: warwick ubu I have been desperately trying to think of a way of explaining under what circumstances a Brit from might use "the Monday" as in "I'll see you on the Monday". I have actually heard it used many times but I don't think that I could link a specific region with it. I think that it is quite widespread, but then, I could be wrong... The trouble is that I know *intuitively* what it means, but I can't really explain it! I think this applies to a great many of the phrases which have been queried on the net, which may be one reason for the conflicting replies, apart from the fact that a phrase may have a subtly different meaning to different people from different areas. I think that "the Monday" is used where a *specific* Monday is implied but not stated. "I'll see you on Monday" just means next Monday, but "I'll see you on *the* Monday" is used where the parties to the conversation know something else, such as "I'll see you on the Monday [that I come back from my holidays]" or something like that. That's how *I* would interpret/use it!