Definition
Definite identifiability is a kind of definiteness which indicates that an expression’s referent(s) is in some way identifiable to both speaker and addressee.
The referent is identifiable because of a shared knowledge or situation, including a previous mention of the referent.
Examples
(English)
- the
- he
Sources 5
- Pei and Gaynor 1954, 53
- Anderson, S. 1985, 179
- Lyons 1968, 276
- Mish 1991, 334
- Hawkins, J. 1978, 202