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Kennduong Posted 22 years ago
Grammar

Help me with "the majority of"

What do you think if my teacher said that after "the majority of" we must use a noun, not a pronoun like this text below:
Students in our country are becoming more and more independent . The majority of ____(this is a gap filling excercise) are even earning their own money and buying their own houses.
I chose " them instead of "students" to avoid repetition but I did get a minus . Please tell me which one is correct.
Thanks
  

Top answer

I'd say you were right for the reason you state - esp as the anaphoric ref is so close. Some teachers like to make up rules the rest of us manage quite well without!!! btw - this is a good tip for style matters - I just did a quick Google search and found plenty of texts where "the majority of them" was used by Englsih writers, including some "quality press"!

— Suzi

  • I'd say you were right for the reason you state - esp as the anaphoric ref is so close.
  • Some teachers like to make up rules the rest of us manage quite well without!!!
  • btw - this is a good tip for style matters - I just did a quick Google search and found plenty of texts where "the majority of them" was used by Englsih writers, including some "quality press"!
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2 Answers
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I'd say you were right for the reason you state - esp as the anaphoric ref is so close. Some teachers like to make up rules the rest of us manage quite well without!!!

btw - this is a good tip for style matters - I just did a quick Google search and found plenty of texts where "the majority of them" was used by Englsih writers, including some "quality press"!
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