C'est le type à lunettes.

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Permalink Reply by Frank on September 11, 2009 at 1:16am

Hi Crack,

Yes, "C'est le type à lunettes" is an excellent way to point out this guy. That's a very good phrase.

Instinctively, I'd rather say "C'est le type avec les lunettes". Both have exactly the same meaning.

So why would "c'est le type avec des lunettes" feel more natural here?

It's probably because of the "rythm" of the sentence. "C'est le type à lunettes" is a very short sentence. Plus, the words themselves are very short. If you say it quickly, it sounds like "C'est l'type à lunett" (the "e" is not pronounced). The whole sentence will be pronounced in 1 or 1.5 seconds. This is short. If he's not watching you, maybe the person you are talking to will not even realize that you were talking to him when the sentence will be finished.

This is why we're trying to keep an "average length" of sentences. Very short sentences can sound weird or harsh. Very long sentences will be boring and maybe difficult to understand. So, we try to keep a balance.

Saying "C'est le type avec des lunettes" instead of "C'est le type à lunettes" doesn't change the meaning, but it adds two syllables, making the sentence a bit longer, closer to the "average length" of a typical sentence.

"C'est le type à lunettes" makes me think about the beginning of a sentence. This part is very short, so we are instinctively waiting for the rest of the sentence, like "C'est le type à lunettes qui a volé mon ballon".

On the other hand, in that case, "C'est le type à lunettes qui a volé mon ballon" is probably more natural than "C'est le type avec des lunettes qui a volé mon ballon". Because the former is very close to the average length of a sentence. The later is too long.

Yes, that's very tricky and this is probably something you learn automatically while talking to native speakers, not a set of rules you have to think about.

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