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Discussion Groups / English Usage / December 2008What does ***they*** refer to?
Hello! Would someone please help me interprete the last sentence of the following passage. I suppose that ***they*** in the last sentence refers to “Mistakes”, not “those manipulations.” I wonder if I am right or wrong, and why. Unexpected, negative side effects are typical, not just of genetic engineering, but of all technologies emerging from the objective scientific approach. The difference between genetic engineering and other technologies is the duration of negative effects. Although many of the earlier technological impacts, such as nuclear and chemical pollution, seem long-term from the perspective of the human time scale, on geological and ecological time scales they are relatively temporary. When we terminate the activities causing chemical and nuclear pollution, mechanisms come into play that, in time, restore the ecosystem. In contrast, germ-line genetic manipulations alter the reproductive cells of the organism. As a consequence, those alterations will be passed on to all subsequent generations. Mistakes made during those manipulations and harmful side effects that ***they*** cause will not disappear with time, but will be perpetuated. I appreciate your help indeed. LP On 30 Dec 2008, Lazypierrot wrote > Hello! Would someone please help me interprete the last > sentence of the following passage. I suppose that ***they*** in [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > I appreciate your help indeed. I read "they" as referring to the whole of the phrase "Mistakes made during those manipulations": "Mistakes made during those manipulations and harmful side effects that [the mistakes made during the manipulations] cause..." >Hello! Would someone please help me interprete the last sentence of >the following passage. I suppose that ***they*** in the last sentence [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >I appreciate your help indeed. "They" are the harmful side effects that mistakes cause. It would be a little clearer adding "the" to the sentence: Mistakes made during those manipulations and the harmful side effects that they cause will not disappear with time, but will be perpetuated. The sentence is OK as is, but readers tend to get lost in long sentences. To prevent this, make it two sentences: Mistakes made during those manipulations will cause harmful side effects. The harmful side effects will not disappear over time and will be perpetuated.  SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida On 30 Dec 2008, tony cooper wrote >> Hello! Would someone please help me interprete the last >> sentence of the following passage. I suppose that ***they*** [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > "They" are the harmful side effects that mistakes cause. I don't understand that at all. Adding in your "the", the sentence is structured as "A and the B that they cause". "They" can't refer to "B", as "B" is what "they" cause. > It would be a little clearer adding "the" to the sentence: > Mistakes made during those manipulations and the harmful side [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > The harmful side effects will not disappear over time and will > be perpetuated. SignatureCheers, Harvey CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed > On 30 Dec 2008, tony cooper wrote > [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > - 引用テキストを表示 - Thanks everyone! BTW, it does not seem that ***they*** refers to "those manipulations." Would it be illogical to interpret in that way? LP > > On 30 Dec 2008, tony cooper wrote > [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > > - Show quoted text - On my first reading, I understood "they" to refer to the manipulations that cause harmful side effects. It doesn't take mistakes to cause harmful side effects; side effects are effects other than those intended. Some are harmful; some are helpful. Aspirin, for instance, has several effects: it relieves pain, which was the original intent; it also has effects on the cardiovascular system, which can be good or bad, depending on if the patient needs thinner blood or definitely does not. [...] > Aspirin, for instance, > has several effects: it relieves pain, which was the original intent; > it also has effects on the cardiovascular system, which can be good or > bad, depending on if the patient needs thinner blood or definitely > does not. Just a point of usage: Aspirin does not make the blood "thinner" (although this expression is frequently used), but inhibits clotting and thus reduces the risk of thrombosis. SignatureLes (BrE) >> On 30 Dec 2008, tony cooper wrote >> [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] >"those manipulations." Would it be illogical to interpret in that >way? In a way, the "they" refers to "those manipulations", but more directly the "they" refers to the mistakes made in those manipulations. The manipulations would not have caused harmful side effects had it not been for the mistakes. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida >On 30 Dec 2008, tony cooper wrote > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] >that they cause". "They" can't refer to "B", as "B" is what >"they" cause. I'm reading the sentence holistically. The "they" can't refer to the mistakes because the mistakes have already been made and there would be no point in stating that they will not disappear over time. The results of the mistakes - the side effects - are ongoing and there is a point to saying they will not disappear over time because some side effects do disappear over time. I don't follow the "A" and "B" stuff, but working with actual words it's clear to me that the mistakes cause side effects, and these particular side effects don't disappear later. >> It would be a little clearer adding "the" to the sentence: >> Mistakes made during those manipulations and the harmful side [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >> The harmful side effects will not disappear over time and will >> be perpetuated. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida In article <ec9d4a87-21b7-4496-8b19-68691f379a17@g3g2000pre.googlegroups.com>, > Hello! Would someone please help me interprete the last sentence of > the following passage. I suppose that ***they*** in the last sentence > refers to ÅgMistakesÅh, not Ågthose manipulations.Åh I wonder if I am > right or wrong, and why. <snip> > "In contrast, germ-line genetic manipulations alter the reproductive > cells of the organism. As a consequence, those alterations will be > passed on to all subsequent generations. Mistakes made during those > manipulations and harmful side effects that ***they*** cause will not > disappear with time, but will be perpetuated." I'd say that "they" must refer to "mistakes" because "manipulations" is set aside in the adverbial phrase that begins with "during". Paring the sentence down we get "[The m]istakes made and [the] effects that they cause will not disappear." SignatureOdysseus Thanks everyone for your kind comments! > I'd say that "they" must refer to "mistakes" because "manipulations" is > set aside in the adverbial phrase that begins with "during". Paring the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > -- > Odysseus ***they*** as a subject in the relative pronoun phrase "that ***they*** cause" should refer to "Mistakes" rather than "manipulations" in the adverbial phrase modifying "Mistakes" makes good sense to me. LP |
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