Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83 v7 ucbtopaz-1.8; site ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!mgnetp!ihnp4!drutx!houxe!hogpc!houti!ariel!vax135!floyd!harpo!decvax!ucbvax!ucbtopaz!gbergman From: gbergman@ucbtopaz.UUCP Newsgroups: net.flame Subject: Re: Grammer Quiz (Try it if you dare!) Message-ID: <490@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA> Date: Thu, 14-Jun-84 15:42:16 EDT Article-I.D.: ucbtopaz.490 Posted: Thu Jun 14 15:42:16 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 15-Jun-84 02:04:54 EDT References: <428@bunker.UUCP> Organization: Univ. of Calif., Berkeley CA USA Lines: 25 : >Are the following pronoun references correct? >"The team won its first game tonight. Afterwards, they >went out to cellebrate." >Can a singular pronoun, its, and a plural pronoun, >they, both reference the same noun, team? Depends on whose standard of correctness. By traditional prescriptive norms, probably not: "they" should become "the players". In modern British usage I think one would have "their" instead of "its". In modern American colloquial usage, the sentences are fine (except for spelling; note also the spelling of "grammar"). Its a little uncertain, though, what the formal referent of "they" is. If "they" meant "the team", then "it" should be equally acceptable, and "it went out..." sounds a tiny bit strange to me. If "they" meant "the members of the team" then one should equally well be able to say "The team lost its first game tonight. Afterwards, they each sat down and cried," which also sounds a strange. Somehow, it seems to mean "the members of the team, as a group." George Bergman Math, UC Berkeley 94720 USA ...!ucbvax!ucbcartan!gbergman