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sejpdw
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
Posts: 217
Location: Korea
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 Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 5:13 pm Post subject: it |
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"Chemists say the body produces tow kinds of tears. One kind cleans out the eye when (A)it gets dirt in (B)it."
In this setence, what do (A)it and (B)it refer to? |
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2006
Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Posts: 610
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| Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 6:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Both "it"s refer to "the eye". |
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+Immune+
Joined: 06 Jan 2006
Posts: 83
Location: Warsaw/Poland
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| Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 3:45 am Post subject: |
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| 2006 wrote: |
| Both "it"s refer to "the eye". |
Unfortunately I must disagree with 2006. Among these two, only the second refers to "an eye" what is emphasized in the sentence by a preposition "in". - dirt is placed in the eye
The first pronoun "it" is used in the sentence along with the word "get" and these two together create an expression "it gets". In this case it means the eye had been clean before something happened and it was covered with dirt.
In this particular case, the first word "it" does not refer to anything as it is a part of a non-dividable construction.
_________________
"Understand that hapiness is not based on possesions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect"
Well, um.. "Never open the refrigerator when you're bored"  |
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Lorikeet
Joined: 08 Oct 2005
Posts: 1877
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:32 am Post subject: |
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| I agree with 2006. One kind of tear cleans out the eye when the eye gets something in it (the eye). |
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+Immune+
Joined: 06 Jan 2006
Posts: 83
Location: Warsaw/Poland
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| Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 9:10 am Post subject: |
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You're right, I admit making a mistake there.  I got a bit confused because the sentence was fairly misleading in that matter.
_________________
"Understand that hapiness is not based on possesions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect"
Well, um.. "Never open the refrigerator when you're bored" |
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2006
Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Posts: 610
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| Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 1:50 pm Post subject: Immune |
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| The sentence is not misleading; it is very clear. |
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lotus
Joined: 25 Jan 2004
Posts: 862
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| Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:37 pm Post subject: |
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Hi,
I would re-write the sentence like so:
Chemists say the eye produces two kinds of tears. One kind cleans out the eye when it gets dirty, the other...
--lotus
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War does not make one great --Yoda |
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Lorikeet
Joined: 08 Oct 2005
Posts: 1877
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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Do you think if you get something in your eye that it is dirty? I guess I'd rather say there was something in it than it got dirty.  |
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lotus
Joined: 25 Jan 2004
Posts: 862
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| Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:00 pm Post subject: |
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Ok,
I guess we can't use a windshield wiper when there's dirt in our eyes.
Ophthalmologists say that the eye produces two kinds of tears. One kind cleans the eye when dirt gets in it, the other...
I would avoid using two its in the sentence. It's just that it has too many its.
--lotus
_________________
War does not make one great --Yoda |
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