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It was an odd message for a spam text, and there was no further explanation, only the participation inquiry.

I feel like it should be rephrased to:

It was an odd message for a spam text, and there was no further explanation, there was only a participation inquiry.

By the way, the text is:

If you climb to the edge of the obelisk, your wish will be granted. Would you like to participate?

Andy Bonner
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David
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1 Answers1

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It was an odd message for a spam text, and there was no further explanation, only the participation inquiry.

The is correct. The requires that its noun is known by both speaker and audience. Depending on where the actual text is, it is to be understood as

  1. [where the explanation/definition of the noun follows the use of "the noun"]: It was an odd message for a spam text, and there was no further explanation, only the participation inquiry that I will now give to you:"If you climb to the edge of the obelisk, your wish will be granted. Would you like to participate?"

or the explanation/definition can precede the use of "the" (this is commonest)

  1. The text said: "that I will now give to you:"If you climb to the edge of the obelisk, your wish will be granted. Would you like to participate?" It was an odd message for a spam text, and there was no further explanation, only the participation inquiry.

The noun = "that noun of which you are, or will become, aware."

Greybeard
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