Did or Will?

[solid9]

Yesterday.

When I was buying a bread from the bakery store.

I saw three people.
One man.
One woman
and
One boy (a child)

The man gives the boy a bread.
And a woman said to the boy this --> "What did you say?"
And the boy replied and said this --> "Thank you!"

Is the phrase --> "What did you say?" correct?
Or should the woman must say this --> "What will you say?"


thanks.

[Michael E. Galario]

Hi Solid9,

I'll try my best to answer your query. But of course, sir Joe is the authority on the subject. ☺

The context provided is insufficient for me to advise you which is which between the two.

"What did you say" would be the correct question to ask if the woman was only confirming what the boy said. The second question " What will you say" would only be correct if the woman would like the boy to say thank you to the man who gave him bread.

Let's also wait for sir Joe. ☺

[Michael E. Galario]

Also, I would like to share with you this grammar tip on the usage of the indefinite article (a,an) and the definite article (the)

THE is used if the writer/speaker(that is you,solid9) and the reader/listener (That is we - Other members of the forum, sir Joe, and I) share a common knowledge of what you are referring to.

The indefinite articles (A and An), on the other hand, would be used if what you are referring to is not known to your reader or listener.

On your post "THE bakery store", you used the definite article "THE". Ask yourself, Do they know about the bakery I am referring to on my post? If the answer to this question is a "YES", then the correct article to use is "A".

suggested correction: Yesterday, while I was buying bread from a bakery store...

Note: Bread is an uncountable noun and is therefore cannot be preceded by the indefinite article "a". You can say A LOAF of bread or TWO SLICES of bread but not A bread.

☺☺☺

[solid9]

@michael

thanks for teaching me.
THE and A, I will remember them.

But I guess I'm using THE because it's common sense.
Everybody knows what a BAKERY is right?

thanks.

By the way, I guess you mistyped the answer 'YES'.
I think you are trying to say 'NO'.
check again your comments.

As regards to BREAD.
I think it's countable because when you buy at the bakery.
the bread cost 5 pesos or 3 pesos.
Although the bread has specific names.

Am I right on this?

[Michael E. Galario]

Oh yeah, sorry my bad. It should be a "No".

As to your question about the article to use in the word "bakery", yes you are correct that everyone of us knows what a bakery is but that is a dictionary definition (general). However, on your post you are referring to a specific bakery where you bought your bread and where you saw the three persons mentioned. We don't know which bakery it was.

Moreover, there is no anaphoric reference for the word bakery to justify the use of the article THE. Maybe, it is worthy of mentioning too that if a noun is first introduced or mentioned be it in spoken or written form, the correct article to use is the indefinite articles (A and An).

To further elaborate this, please refer to the examples below:

A. Can you pass me A chair.  (unspecific, any chair)
B. Can you pass me the chair. (specific, the listener knows it. The chair could be just in front of them.)

For the noun bread, bread is an uncountable noun. The denomination as used in your examples - 3 pesos, 5 pesos, has nothing to do with the number of the word BREAD. Maybe you are coming from the idea that we can buy a piece of bread for three pesos. It's the same with the erroneous statement " One rice" whenever we order a cup of rice in restaurants and "two soaps" whenever we buy two bars of soap in stores.

The notion of countability/uncountability and singularity/plurality of nouns becomes a challenge for us, second-language learners, because some nouns are used in our country incorrectly and only few people have the courage to point out the errors and correct them. This is what is making the learning of the English language a bit complicated as teachers would need to challenge the schema (stock knowledge) of their learners. What was incorrectly learned in the yesteryears would need to be unlearned - that is if there is such a thing as unlearning.

Remember, we have to use the language the way it is used by the native speakers for us to effectively communicate our thoughts to our listeners/readers..

 Whenever seized by doubt, you may consult a dictionary or sir Joe. ☺

[solid9]

@michael

thanks for re-clarifying again your answer.
Wow!, I'm not sure If I can remember those rules lol
But I will try...

English is complex.

[Michael E. Galario]

You're welcome.

Don't worry. You are not alone. I am still trying to get the hang of it.