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Re: built-in rules



Wofgang Bechstein wrote:

minute that he had said "I am a jelly donut"....the phrase itself, "Ich
bin ein Berliner" was correct, both grammatically and in the idiomatic
and intended meaning of "I am a citizen of Berlin". That there are also
jelly donuts called "Berliners" (one of my favorite types of pastry) is
neither here nor there. >
Danken Sie wohl, Wolfgang. I had long suspected that was the case, but
my four years of college German were too far in the past to let me dare
contradict those who _seemed_ to know whereof they spoke. Perhaps they
were too literal-minded to understand that a given word may have more
that one meaning--a fact that makes puns possible.
Patricia