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Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

only they were TV screens

English answer:

"they" refers to the screens in the first part of the sentence.

    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2010-11-25 21:54:11 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
Nov 22, 2010 13:38
13 yrs ago
1 viewer *
English term

only they were TV screens

Non-PRO English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters a general language question
"But many of today's parents spent hours as kids sitting in front of screens too — only they were TV screens."
Is this sentence correct?
Shouldn't it be rather "... only theirs were TV screen"
I am completely confused...
Responses
4 +11 "they" refers to the screens in the first part of the sentence.
5 +5 "they" refers to the TV screens
3 +3 they - the screens
Change log

Nov 22, 2010 13:49: Tony M changed "Term asked" from "But many of today\'s parents spent hours as kids..." to "only they were TV screens"

Nov 22, 2010 16:44: Kay Barbara changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (3): Tony M, Sheila Wilson, Kay Barbara

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Discussion

British Diana Nov 26, 2010:
Alles klar Thanks, Tony, for your explanation! I hadn't seen that you are also a Moderator on DE-EN.
Tony M Nov 26, 2010:
Note from moderator: Asker, points cannot be split on any one question; over a period of time, you can try to make sure you share them out equitably!

Regarding the 'community grading issue': even if Asker had originally chosen this option, it can be overridden by manual grading later. If a question is closed automatically by the KudoZ robot, that automatically awards a full 4 points.
Shera Lyn Parpia Nov 26, 2010:
No... I don't believe I got any points. It simply doesn't work that way!
British Diana Nov 26, 2010:
puzzling? Did KudoZ really split the points? Just for interest, Shera, did you get two points like me, too? This would be the first time that KudoZ had split points, in my experience.
And I don't understand what "community grading" is if the Asker still allocated points?
Shera Lyn Parpia Nov 22, 2010:
Don't worry... Proz doesn't allow you to share points, but that's okay, she was first :) and she said almost the same thing I did.
Elena Ghetti Nov 22, 2010:
tv screens, not for example PC screens the parents were sitting in front of screens but TV screens while young people now may sit in front computer screens, Nintendo WII or whatever
Gerard Burns Jr. Nov 22, 2010:
All three answerers are correct, but The variation you are thinking of would also be correct - in some cases people would think your view clearer, because there would be no chance of mistaking what the possesive pronoun referred to. However, it also seems to asign ownership of those screens, and many people may have grown up watching screens that belonged to other people, their parents, for instance, so there are arguments on both sides.

Responses

+11
7 mins
English term (edited): but many of today's parents spent hours as kids...
Selected

"they" refers to the screens in the first part of the sentence.

This sentence is O.K. "They" refers to the last plural word used in the first part of the sentence , in this case the screens.
Peer comment(s):
agree Shera Lyn Parpia : how could I not agree?
0 min
Thanks, Shera!
agree Arabic & More
1 min
Thanks, Amel!
agree Tony M : Asker's own modified version would be perhaps more pedantically correct style, but the version as it stands would be common usage and not at all wrong / 'the latter' would work fine grammatically, but could be a little stilted for the document register...
2 mins
Thanks, Tony - or use "the latter"?/In German we would say ".."nur waren ES Fernsehbildschirme", wouldn't we?
agree Alfredo Tutino
3 mins
Thanks, Alfredo!
agree Sarah Bessioud
3 mins
Thanks, Jeux de Mots!
agree Jack Doughty
39 mins
Thanks, Jack!
agree Stephanie Ezrol
50 mins
Thanks, Stephanie!
agree jccantrell : Gotta go with the first right one: TV screens instead of computer screens.
1 hr
Thanks, jccantrell!
agree Thayenga : What else could it be? Have a great week. :)
1 hr
Thanks, Thayenga!
agree airmailrpl : -
1 hr
Thanks, airmailrpl!
agree Egil Presttun
4 hrs
Thanks,Egil!
Something went wrong...
2 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks to everyone who participated in the discussion. Proz members are, as always, very reliable:) 2 points to British Diand, and 2 to Shera Lyn Parpia (both replied at, more or less, the same time) As for the sentence, I obviously have to accept that "
+5
7 mins
English term (edited): but many of today's parents spent hours as kids...

"they" refers to the TV screens

The english is right, but you need to read the sentence anothwer way:

what it means
"But many of today's parents spent hours as kids sitting in front of screens too — only they (those screens) were TV screens."
Note from asker:
I am sorry, I wanted to share the 4 points between you and British Diana, but I'm not sure it worked as planned.... anielka
Peer comment(s):
agree Arabic & More
1 min
thanks.
agree Tony M : Asker's own modified version would be perhaps more pedantically correct style, but the version as it stands would be common usage and not at all wrong
2 mins
Thanks.
agree Alfredo Tutino
3 mins
Thanks.
agree Stephanie Ezrol
50 mins
Thank you.
agree airmailrpl : -
1 hr
Thanks!
Something went wrong...
+3
10 mins
English term (edited): but many of today's parents spent hours as kids...

they - the screens

Your phrasing is probably better - but the sentence is more or less correct: "they" stand for something like "those screens"; i.e. the second sentence has a different subjet. Il may be confusing, and should be avoided, IMHO - but I don't think it's ungrammatical
Peer comment(s):
agree Tony M
1 min
thank you
agree Stephanie Ezrol
48 mins
thank you
agree airmailrpl : -
1 hr
thank you
Something went wrong...
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