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Keke99 Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

What does the underlined "them" refer to?

At metro stations, in airports and department stores, people stand in line to take the escalator, while staircases next to them are almost empty. Shopping malls and department stores built in several stories rely on escalators and elevators to move people from floor to floor.

Hello! Thanks in advance.
In the above text, I thought "them" means "the escalator" at first, but soon I realized "the escalator" is singular and thought it could be "people". And now both of them seems dubious. I want to know if "them" mean "the escalator", or "people".
  

Top answer

keke99 What does the underlined "them" refer to? There is a misprint or a mistake. "escalator" should be "escalators".

— CalifJim

  • keke99 What does the underlined "them" refer to?
  • There is a misprint or a mistake.
  • "escalator" should be "escalators".
  • Then "them" refers to "escalators", thus: At metro stations, in airports and department stores, people stand in line to take the escalators , while staircases next to them are almost empty.
  • CJ
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3 Answers
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keke99 What does the underlined "them" refer to?
There is a misprint or a mistake. "escalator" should be "escalators". Then "them" refers to "escalators", thus:

At metro stations, in airports and department stores, people stand in line to take the escalators, while staircases next to them are almost empty.
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I doublechecked the original text. It is "the escalator". If so, as you said, the writer could have made a mistake.Emotion: embarrassed
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keke99the writer could have made a mistake.
Yes. The writer or the editor, but in any case somebody made a mistake.
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