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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