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Park sang joon Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

What pronouns indicate

CC is the name the scientist behind the first cloned house pet gave their creation, a shorthaired clico that is a genetic (though not a visual) duplicate of her biological mom. Because she is so seductively cute-pulling ate the same heartstrings and infant human clone would invariably tug?she lays bare the emotional subtext that has so far been missing in the great cloning debate. It's one thing to argue the merits of cloning when you're talking about uncuddly sheep, mice, cattle, goats and pigs. It's quite another where the clone is practically sitting in you lap, mewing and purring and begging for love.
[Source: Reading for Results Ninth Edition by Laraine Flemming]
I think "it" indicates such an argument missing the emotional subtext, but I don't know what "one thing" indicates.
So I'd like to hear of your deductions.
  

Top answer

It's one thing .... It's quite another... This is an idiomatic expression to contrast the first action to another similar action..

  • It's one thing ....
  • It's quite another...
  • This is an idiomatic expression to contrast the first action to another similar action..
  • The argument typically involves some moral or emotional quandary.
  • It's one thing to kill someone who is attacking you; it's quite another to kill in revenge of some slight.
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3 Answers
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It's one thing .... It's quite another...

This is an idiomatic expression to contrast the first action to another similar action..
The argument typically involves some moral or emotional quandary.

It's one thing to kill someone who is attacking you; it's quite another to kill in revenge of some slight.

The subject "it" is a "dummy it" which has no antecedent.
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Thank you, AlpheccaStars, for your kind answer. Emotion: smile
I didn't know there is such a structure.
I have searched a dictionary for t
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park sang joonBut I think the auther would think the latter is more accepitble.
No, our emotional involvement is far more complex in the latter, thus questioning the ethics of producing a clone.

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