Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[learner12]

Hello, teachers!!

When a man's circumstances are such that (1)he has no occasion to borrow, (2)he finds numbers willing to lend (3)him; but should (4)his wants be such that (5)he sues for a trifle, it is two to one whether (6)he may be trusted with the smallest sum.
----->
GROUP A: (1), (2)
GROUP B: (3), (4), (5), (6)

Can I think that GROUP A is different from GROUP B? I am too confused to tell many "he" in the above sentence. Do you have any good ways to tell "he" from another "he"? Isn't there any way but to depend on the context?

Thank you in advance.

[asterix]

he is the third person, singular, masculine pronoun. You use it whenever you need it to be the subject of a sentence.

[learner12]

Dear asterix,

Thank you so much!! Next time, I would want to have what you wrote in mind.

Have a nice day!!

[asterix]

Any time - have fun!

[CP]

All the "he"s in the sentence are some hypothetical person who fits the description.

It means, if a person doesn't need any money, he can find many people willing to lend him money. But if he is so poor or so greedy that he would sue for even a trifling (very small) amount of money, it is unlikely that he can be trusted with a small amount of money.

The one who doesn't need any moeny could be rich or poor, greedy or not, so the sentence could mean just one person or more than one.
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[learner12]

Dear CP,

Thank you for your explanations. I really appreciated it. I understood it very well.

Have a nice day!!