Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[nawee]

Hello,

Can you tell me what "them" refer to in this sentence?

"So as you can see. the question is no longer "what's a mailstream?"It's
when can I start profiting from them?"

I'm not sure what "them" should refer to there. In the previous paragraph, the text mentions "mailstream solutions, but not in this paragraph. Plus the fact that it comes after "mailstream" confuses me even more. Does "them" refer to "mailstream" or "solutions"?

Thank you,

Nawee

[desertinstructor]

Hi Nawee, In this sentence, "them" refers to mailstream. It's a little confusing because mailstream is not in its plural form in this sentence. They could have written, "what are mailstreams" instead of "what is a mailstream" and then it would have probably been less confusing to you. I hope this helps!
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desertinstructor

[Anuradha Chepur]

I think them refers to mailstream solutions in the previous paragraph. Probably the writer hasn't taken enough care to maintain continuity and coherence.

[CP]

According to wikipedia:

"Mailstream is defined as the physical and digital mail, documents and packages, that flow across organizations to their customers and back. It encompasses people, technology and processes from document creation to production, distribution and management."

The rest of the article is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mailstream .

Since "mailstream" seems to be many things at once, even though it is singular, the writer could have meant all those things when he / she wrote "them," or could have just been sloppy.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[Mister Micawber]

.
Just a word: there is no need for the referent of a pronoun to be in the same sentence. If 'mailstream solutions' appears previously, it can legitimately be considered the referent for 'them' here. I would have to read the fuller context to be sure, but there is no necessity to consider the style poor or the composition inferior simply because a referent is not present in the same sentence.
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"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
...............
Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's

[Anuradha Chepur]

[nawee]

Here's the paragraphs before the sentence in question, just in can they can help.

"We're the only company that offers end-to-end mailstream solutions, from data management to personalized document creation, production and distribution. They can make your business mail more effective, efficient, and personal than you may have thought possible.
The result: increased customer acquisition, rention and loyalty. Significantly decreased costs. And, ultimately, higher profits.
So as you can see, the question is no longer "what's a mailstream?" It's "when can I start profiting fro them?"

Thank you,

Nawee

[Mary W. Ng]

[lotus]

Hi,

Consider:

So as you can see, the question is no longer "what's a mailstream?" It's "when can I start profiting from them?"

So as you can see, the question is no longer "what's in a word?" It's "what can we express with them?"

So as you can see, the question is no longer "why did he shoot that arrow?" It's "how few did he need to hit that apple?"

So as you can see, the question is no longer "what's an iPod?" It's "how have they changed our popular culture and the way we consume media?"

Changing plurality mid-paragraph is common when shifting from object to concept.


--lotus

[Mary W. Ng]

Lotus is correct.

There are always exceptions to the rule that a pronoun must agree with its antecedent, and this is one of them. When the antecedent of a pronoun is a singular noun denoting a whole class, the pronoun is usually singular but can be plural.
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Mary W. Ng
Helping students learn grammar
http:www.aimpublishing.com

[nawee]

Just want to make sure. Is this pronoun shift acceptable in written English? Some of the earlier posts have mentioned discontinuity and lapses. It sounded as if the shift should be discouraged. But having read Lotus' sentences, as a non-native, I found the cited sentences acceptable. I just want to know if I should make any corrections/modifications when I see this kind of pronoun shift?

Thank you,

Nawee