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Stenka25 Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary
The pronoun problem
the pronoun problem
The passage below is from a website as follows:
http://48laws-of-power.blogspot.kr/2011/05/law-31-control-options-get-others-to.html
In the 1860s, John D. Rockefeller set out to create an oil monopoly. He began secretly buying up the railway companies that transported the oil. When he then attempted to take over a particular company, and met with resistance, he reminded ?them of ?their dependence on the rails. Refusing ?them shipping, or simply raising ?their fees, could ruin ?their business. Rockefeller altered the playing field so that the only options the small oil producers had were the ones he gave ?them.
In this passage I want to know what the numbered pronouns stands for.
To me all of them refers to the same referent, oil companies.
Am I right?
Regards.
The passage below is from a website as follows:
http://48laws-of-power.blogspot.kr/2011/05/law-31-control-options-get-others-to.html
In the 1860s, John D. Rockefeller set out to create an oil monopoly. He began secretly buying up the railway companies that transported the oil. When he then attempted to take over a particular company, and met with resistance, he reminded ?them of ?their dependence on the rails. Refusing ?them shipping, or simply raising ?their fees, could ruin ?their business. Rockefeller altered the playing field so that the only options the small oil producers had were the ones he gave ?them.
In this passage I want to know what the numbered pronouns stands for.
To me all of them refers to the same referent, oil companies.
Am I right?
Regards.
Top answer
Am I right? #1–#5 refer to 'a particular company' (which does logically mean an oil company, but there is no grammatical referent to that non-existent term in the context given). #6 refers to 'small oil producers' (again, not 'oil companies')
- Am I right?
- #1–#5 refer to 'a particular company' (which does logically mean an oil company, but there is no grammatical referent to that non-existent term in the context given).
- #6 refers to 'small oil producers' (again, not 'oil companies')
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2 Answers
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Stenka25To me all of them refers to the same referent, oil companies.Am I right?#1–#5 refer to 'a particular company' (which does logically mean an oil company, but there is no grammatical referent to that non-existent term in the context given).
#6 refers to 'small oil producers' (again, not 'oil companies')
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