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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
they
She said that Bill loved him none the less for his faults.
A: Do you think they're clumsy?
B: I don't think they're clumsy -- a bit unusual.
In the above dialogue, 'they' seems to denote the one sentence (She said that Bill loved him none the less for his faults.) I want to ask a question. Why the speakers use 'they' to denote one sentence? In my view, 'it', or 'this', or 'that' should be used to denote one sentence not sentences. 'They' is used to refer to two or more people or things previously mentioned or easily identified, according to a dictionary.
A: Do you think they're clumsy?
B: I don't think they're clumsy -- a bit unusual.
In the above dialogue, 'they' seems to denote the one sentence (She said that Bill loved him none the less for his faults.) I want to ask a question. Why the speakers use 'they' to denote one sentence? In my view, 'it', or 'this', or 'that' should be used to denote one sentence not sentences. 'They' is used to refer to two or more people or things previously mentioned or easily identified, according to a dictionary.
Top answer
"they" cannot refer to a single sentence. It is not clear what "they" does refer to, or how "She said that Bill loved him none the less for his faults" relates to the next lines. Is there any additional context that might shed further light?
- "they" cannot refer to a single sentence.
- It is not clear what "they" does refer to, or how "She said that Bill loved him none the less for his faults" relates to the next lines.
- Is there any additional context that might shed further light?
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2 Answers
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"they" cannot refer to a single sentence. It is not clear what "they" does refer to, or how "She said that Bill loved him none the less for his faults" relates to the next lines. Is there any additional context that might shed further light?
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