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trying to understand the grammar

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by aj5105 » Wed May 20, 2009 10:25 pm
I found the below sentence on a website belonging to a very reputed newspaper. I am trying to understand more about the grammar used in this sentence.

"It is little wonder that one in five New Orleans residents say they are considering leaving."

My problem is with the usage of they (and obviously are)



Help appreciated.
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by Svedankae » Thu May 21, 2009 4:14 am
Shouldnt it read

One in five sayS he/she considers leaving


?[/b]
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Re: trying to understand the grammar

by bluementor » Thu May 21, 2009 5:08 am
aj5105 wrote: "It is little wonder that one in five New Orleans residents say they are considering leaving."

My problem is with the usage of they (and obviously are)
one in five New Orleans residents does not mean there is only one resident who is considering leaving. You could replace one in five with twenty percent of and you will see that the usage of 'they' is more obvious.

IMO, 'they' as it's used in the sentence is correct.

-BM-
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by umaa » Thu May 21, 2009 5:37 am
I agree with bluementor.

It's refers more than one person
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by 4score20 » Thu May 21, 2009 3:33 pm
I don't think the numbers are intended to be read literally. Hence you assume they generalize the situation and are referring to many people.
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