pronouns

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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > pronouns

pronouns

KHAWLA ALZIOD

pronouns

Hello everyone ,

Could you help me in this sentence because I found it confusing?

When large number of people move from their homes in country areas to find better

paid jobs in town and cities ,the villages they once lived in are often left empty .

No one wants to buy homes there because they cant make money out of them .

what does the pronoun they refer to ?

Does it refer to no one , or people .

What type of pronouns refer to no one ,some one .

Thanks ,

20 Apr 2013

etoilist

people

they

21 Apr 2013

ISAF57

It refers to "no one" = they (no one) want to buy homes because they (no one) can �t make money... Although "no one" is singular and followed by a 3rd person singular -s present, the substitute pronoun must be "they" because it doesn �t show gender. This also refers to someone, anyone, everyone and the -body compounds.

I hope it answers your question.

ISAF

21 Apr 2013

Jayho

Pronoun reference words can sometimes be confusing but if you google it you will find lots of information about it.

They refers to no-one but it also refers to people. No-one, in this context, means people.

No-one (not one person) wants to buy homes there because ...

People do not want to by homes there because...

Re no-one/someone - when the gender is not known you can use their or they

Somebody has left her/their purse in the ladies restroom (gender implied)

I�m missing one class text book. Some one has forgotten to give me their book (gender unknown)

Somebody has left their flash drive in the computer

When no-one attends the meeting, they miss out on vital information

Cheers

Jayho

21 Apr 2013