If someone were to look through the window, they would see only an empty room. (TOEFL)
试题要求将 they(C) 改为 he。但是, 我在一本英英辞典中却读到这样的句子:
If someone is limp, they have no strength or energy in their body, so that they can be moved easily.
究竟孰是孰非？简直无所适从。
应当记住,TOEFL等考试的测试专家们是规定语法学派。他们坚持用规定语法学的观点来考核学生:someone 在形式上是单数,因此,其代词必须用单数 he。但是,这种规定早已被人们所冲破:“许多人宁愿使用复数形式,而不愿使用单数形式的 he 或 he or she。”(R. Quirk 语)。请看下面的例句:
-
If you say that someone ought to know better, you mean that they ought to behave in a more sensible and acceptable way. (EED) 如果你说某人应当懂得不去做某事，那你就是说他们应当以更明智、更佳的方式来行事。
-
If someone is lying, they are saying something which they know is untrue. (EED) 如果说某人在说谎,那就意味着他们在说他们自己知道是不真实的话。
someone...they(them, their)的用法在 Essential English Dictionary 中可以找到数千例。(参见 everybody...they)
someone else's 见 else