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Niue Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

• them vs. theirs

Hi!
I read the following in a TOEIC book:

“Question 112. Since the company had so many unsold products from last year, they had to sell ____ at a hugely discounted rate.

A. they
B. their
C. theirs
D. them

(Answer: D)” ((Mozilge TOEIC, Book 5, Test 6))

I agree with the above book that D is correct, but I don’t understand why C isn’t.
Don’t you think that C [theirs] IS ALSO correct?
Thanks in advance.
  

Top answer

Question 112. Since the company had so many unsold products from last year, they had to sell their unsold products at a hugely discounted rate. ) Hence, theirs cannot be used to fill in the blank.

— Yoong Liat

  • Question 112.
  • Since the company had so many unsold products from last year, they had to sell their unsold products at a hugely discounted rate.
  • ) Hence, theirs cannot be used to fill in the blank.
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2 Answers
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Question 112. Since the company had so many unsold products from last year, they had to sell their unsold products at a hugely discounted rate. (them refers to their unsold products.)

Hence, theirs cannot be used to fill in the blank.
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NiueDon’t you think that C [theirs] IS ALSO correct?
No.

If you use 'theirs', it's equivalent to saying this sort of thing:

I have a car, and I'm going to sell mine. ~ I have a car, and I'm going to sell the one that belongs to me.
There is no contrast with 'the one that belongs to someone else". The only car here is the one I hav
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