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Shcho23 Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
What does "it' refer to?
Sorry for the lengthy quotes: My question relates to the final sentence.
One ticket has the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The other ticket has the numbers 5, 18, 19, 31, 35, 45. Which ticket would you choose to keep? Statistically, both tickets have an equal probability of winning. So it doesn’t matter which ticket you choose because they both have the same chance of winning. However, many people would choose the second ticket over the first. Why is this? One suggestion is that we view the second ticket to be more representative of a winning lottery ticket. That is, you ignore the fact that they both have an equal chance and instead make the decision based on how similar you think _it_ is to a winning ticket.
In the last sentence, what does _it_ refer to?
Thank you so much.
One ticket has the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The other ticket has the numbers 5, 18, 19, 31, 35, 45. Which ticket would you choose to keep? Statistically, both tickets have an equal probability of winning. So it doesn’t matter which ticket you choose because they both have the same chance of winning. However, many people would choose the second ticket over the first. Why is this? One suggestion is that we view the second ticket to be more representative of a winning lottery ticket. That is, you ignore the fact that they both have an equal chance and instead make the decision based on how similar you think _it_ is to a winning ticket.
In the last sentence, what does _it_ refer to?
Thank you so much.
Top answer
shcho23 In the last sentence, what does _it_ refer to? The second ticket with the numbers 5, 18, 19, 31, 35, 45.
- shcho23 In the last sentence, what does _it_ refer to?
- The second ticket with the numbers 5, 18, 19, 31, 35, 45.
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7 Answers
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shcho23In the last sentence, what does _it_ refer to?The second ticket with the numbers 5, 18, 19, 31, 35, 45.
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shcho23what does _it_ refer to?the ticket to be chosen from among those offered
CJ
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CalifJimthe ticket to be chosen from among those offeredWhich means "it" could mean either of the two tickets, not just the second ticket?
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shcho23Which means "it" could mean either of the two tickets, not just the second ticket?It doesn't refer to either of those. In my opinion it refers to an abstraction, as already described.
CJ
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CalifJimIt doesn't refer to either of those. In my opinion it refers to an abstractionI'm sorry for the trouble, but I'm not quite sure I fully understood it.
So, can "it" be any ticket without regard to the given context?
Thanks a lot.
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The referent of it could be a number of things in that rather fuzzy sentence.
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