“of their being” vs “of there being”












1















I am reading a BBC article on "Why pressing ‘upload’ means losing your rights". On page 2 of that article there is a paragraph that reads:



Meanwhile, legal thinking on digital rights is slowly catching up with the absurdity of their being almost no current recourse for loss, deletion or the whims of a service provider; but its pace is massively exceeded by the rate at which material is flowing online, into the hands of businesses whose profitability rests on owning and exploiting everything you give them.



My question is what is the difference between "of their being" and "of there being", and are both acceptable and when? Both have millions of results on Google. I know their is used for possession but I don't understand how that fits in here.



Thank you










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  • 2





    It's just sloppy editing. It happens frequently with there/their/they're and your/you're, even to the best of us. Homophones become hard to spot, especially by the author, because as you read it back to yourself, you don't hear a difference and often substitute the correct word for the incorrect one in your head without noticing. Of their being would reference someone's existence. There is the correct choice, which is why it didn't make sense to you.

    – Giambattista
    Nov 23 '13 at 22:25
















1















I am reading a BBC article on "Why pressing ‘upload’ means losing your rights". On page 2 of that article there is a paragraph that reads:



Meanwhile, legal thinking on digital rights is slowly catching up with the absurdity of their being almost no current recourse for loss, deletion or the whims of a service provider; but its pace is massively exceeded by the rate at which material is flowing online, into the hands of businesses whose profitability rests on owning and exploiting everything you give them.



My question is what is the difference between "of their being" and "of there being", and are both acceptable and when? Both have millions of results on Google. I know their is used for possession but I don't understand how that fits in here.



Thank you










share|improve this question


















  • 2





    It's just sloppy editing. It happens frequently with there/their/they're and your/you're, even to the best of us. Homophones become hard to spot, especially by the author, because as you read it back to yourself, you don't hear a difference and often substitute the correct word for the incorrect one in your head without noticing. Of their being would reference someone's existence. There is the correct choice, which is why it didn't make sense to you.

    – Giambattista
    Nov 23 '13 at 22:25














1












1








1








I am reading a BBC article on "Why pressing ‘upload’ means losing your rights". On page 2 of that article there is a paragraph that reads:



Meanwhile, legal thinking on digital rights is slowly catching up with the absurdity of their being almost no current recourse for loss, deletion or the whims of a service provider; but its pace is massively exceeded by the rate at which material is flowing online, into the hands of businesses whose profitability rests on owning and exploiting everything you give them.



My question is what is the difference between "of their being" and "of there being", and are both acceptable and when? Both have millions of results on Google. I know their is used for possession but I don't understand how that fits in here.



Thank you










share|improve this question














I am reading a BBC article on "Why pressing ‘upload’ means losing your rights". On page 2 of that article there is a paragraph that reads:



Meanwhile, legal thinking on digital rights is slowly catching up with the absurdity of their being almost no current recourse for loss, deletion or the whims of a service provider; but its pace is massively exceeded by the rate at which material is flowing online, into the hands of businesses whose profitability rests on owning and exploiting everything you give them.



My question is what is the difference between "of their being" and "of there being", and are both acceptable and when? Both have millions of results on Google. I know their is used for possession but I don't understand how that fits in here.



Thank you







grammar






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asked Nov 23 '13 at 22:03









testtest

118114




118114








  • 2





    It's just sloppy editing. It happens frequently with there/their/they're and your/you're, even to the best of us. Homophones become hard to spot, especially by the author, because as you read it back to yourself, you don't hear a difference and often substitute the correct word for the incorrect one in your head without noticing. Of their being would reference someone's existence. There is the correct choice, which is why it didn't make sense to you.

    – Giambattista
    Nov 23 '13 at 22:25














  • 2





    It's just sloppy editing. It happens frequently with there/their/they're and your/you're, even to the best of us. Homophones become hard to spot, especially by the author, because as you read it back to yourself, you don't hear a difference and often substitute the correct word for the incorrect one in your head without noticing. Of their being would reference someone's existence. There is the correct choice, which is why it didn't make sense to you.

    – Giambattista
    Nov 23 '13 at 22:25








2




2





It's just sloppy editing. It happens frequently with there/their/they're and your/you're, even to the best of us. Homophones become hard to spot, especially by the author, because as you read it back to yourself, you don't hear a difference and often substitute the correct word for the incorrect one in your head without noticing. Of their being would reference someone's existence. There is the correct choice, which is why it didn't make sense to you.

– Giambattista
Nov 23 '13 at 22:25





It's just sloppy editing. It happens frequently with there/their/they're and your/you're, even to the best of us. Homophones become hard to spot, especially by the author, because as you read it back to yourself, you don't hear a difference and often substitute the correct word for the incorrect one in your head without noticing. Of their being would reference someone's existence. There is the correct choice, which is why it didn't make sense to you.

– Giambattista
Nov 23 '13 at 22:25










3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















5














It should definitely be "of there being" in the referenced paragraph.



Let us illustrate by providing possible alternative wordings:




  1. A consequence of their being is ...

  2. A consequence of their being available is ...

  3. A consequence of there being a solution is ...


These can be rephrased as:




  1. A consequence of their existence is ...

  2. A consequence of their availability is ...

  3. A consequence of the existence of a solution is ...




So what is going on?




  • "Their being", and "their being [adjective]" refer to the existence, respectively the property expressed by the adjective, of the subject referenced by "their".


  • "There being", on the other hand, indicates a general state of affairs.



I hope that clarifies the matter for you.






share|improve this answer































    0














    "... what is the difference between "of their being" and "of there being"..."



    "Their being" relates to the question, "Whose being?"
    "There being" introduces an explanation of something. This is what the hurried BBC writer meant. You could replace his "of their being" with "of the fact that".



    This headline popped up on a Google search: "There is not much hope of their being alive".






    share|improve this answer































      0














      Good question, I agree that it's an error.



      Possessive adjectives are used before gerunds (My coming surprised everyone) and not object pronouns (Me coming surprised everyone). This latter is heard more and more and thus represents a change in progress. But there is no possessive adjective for "there" and in the sentence their is no logical reference for the "their," so it seems to be an oversight in the editing.






      share|improve this answer










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        3 Answers
        3






        active

        oldest

        votes








        3 Answers
        3






        active

        oldest

        votes









        active

        oldest

        votes






        active

        oldest

        votes









        5














        It should definitely be "of there being" in the referenced paragraph.



        Let us illustrate by providing possible alternative wordings:




        1. A consequence of their being is ...

        2. A consequence of their being available is ...

        3. A consequence of there being a solution is ...


        These can be rephrased as:




        1. A consequence of their existence is ...

        2. A consequence of their availability is ...

        3. A consequence of the existence of a solution is ...




        So what is going on?




        • "Their being", and "their being [adjective]" refer to the existence, respectively the property expressed by the adjective, of the subject referenced by "their".


        • "There being", on the other hand, indicates a general state of affairs.



        I hope that clarifies the matter for you.






        share|improve this answer




























          5














          It should definitely be "of there being" in the referenced paragraph.



          Let us illustrate by providing possible alternative wordings:




          1. A consequence of their being is ...

          2. A consequence of their being available is ...

          3. A consequence of there being a solution is ...


          These can be rephrased as:




          1. A consequence of their existence is ...

          2. A consequence of their availability is ...

          3. A consequence of the existence of a solution is ...




          So what is going on?




          • "Their being", and "their being [adjective]" refer to the existence, respectively the property expressed by the adjective, of the subject referenced by "their".


          • "There being", on the other hand, indicates a general state of affairs.



          I hope that clarifies the matter for you.






          share|improve this answer


























            5












            5








            5







            It should definitely be "of there being" in the referenced paragraph.



            Let us illustrate by providing possible alternative wordings:




            1. A consequence of their being is ...

            2. A consequence of their being available is ...

            3. A consequence of there being a solution is ...


            These can be rephrased as:




            1. A consequence of their existence is ...

            2. A consequence of their availability is ...

            3. A consequence of the existence of a solution is ...




            So what is going on?




            • "Their being", and "their being [adjective]" refer to the existence, respectively the property expressed by the adjective, of the subject referenced by "their".


            • "There being", on the other hand, indicates a general state of affairs.



            I hope that clarifies the matter for you.






            share|improve this answer













            It should definitely be "of there being" in the referenced paragraph.



            Let us illustrate by providing possible alternative wordings:




            1. A consequence of their being is ...

            2. A consequence of their being available is ...

            3. A consequence of there being a solution is ...


            These can be rephrased as:




            1. A consequence of their existence is ...

            2. A consequence of their availability is ...

            3. A consequence of the existence of a solution is ...




            So what is going on?




            • "Their being", and "their being [adjective]" refer to the existence, respectively the property expressed by the adjective, of the subject referenced by "their".


            • "There being", on the other hand, indicates a general state of affairs.



            I hope that clarifies the matter for you.







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered Nov 23 '13 at 22:14









            Lord_FarinLord_Farin

            1663




            1663

























                0














                "... what is the difference between "of their being" and "of there being"..."



                "Their being" relates to the question, "Whose being?"
                "There being" introduces an explanation of something. This is what the hurried BBC writer meant. You could replace his "of their being" with "of the fact that".



                This headline popped up on a Google search: "There is not much hope of their being alive".






                share|improve this answer




























                  0














                  "... what is the difference between "of their being" and "of there being"..."



                  "Their being" relates to the question, "Whose being?"
                  "There being" introduces an explanation of something. This is what the hurried BBC writer meant. You could replace his "of their being" with "of the fact that".



                  This headline popped up on a Google search: "There is not much hope of their being alive".






                  share|improve this answer


























                    0












                    0








                    0







                    "... what is the difference between "of their being" and "of there being"..."



                    "Their being" relates to the question, "Whose being?"
                    "There being" introduces an explanation of something. This is what the hurried BBC writer meant. You could replace his "of their being" with "of the fact that".



                    This headline popped up on a Google search: "There is not much hope of their being alive".






                    share|improve this answer













                    "... what is the difference between "of their being" and "of there being"..."



                    "Their being" relates to the question, "Whose being?"
                    "There being" introduces an explanation of something. This is what the hurried BBC writer meant. You could replace his "of their being" with "of the fact that".



                    This headline popped up on a Google search: "There is not much hope of their being alive".







                    share|improve this answer












                    share|improve this answer



                    share|improve this answer










                    answered Nov 24 '13 at 4:14









                    ZZMikeZZMike

                    1,18755




                    1,18755























                        0














                        Good question, I agree that it's an error.



                        Possessive adjectives are used before gerunds (My coming surprised everyone) and not object pronouns (Me coming surprised everyone). This latter is heard more and more and thus represents a change in progress. But there is no possessive adjective for "there" and in the sentence their is no logical reference for the "their," so it seems to be an oversight in the editing.






                        share|improve this answer










                        New contributor




                        user338477 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                          0














                          Good question, I agree that it's an error.



                          Possessive adjectives are used before gerunds (My coming surprised everyone) and not object pronouns (Me coming surprised everyone). This latter is heard more and more and thus represents a change in progress. But there is no possessive adjective for "there" and in the sentence their is no logical reference for the "their," so it seems to be an oversight in the editing.






                          share|improve this answer










                          New contributor




                          user338477 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                          Check out our Code of Conduct.























                            0












                            0








                            0







                            Good question, I agree that it's an error.



                            Possessive adjectives are used before gerunds (My coming surprised everyone) and not object pronouns (Me coming surprised everyone). This latter is heard more and more and thus represents a change in progress. But there is no possessive adjective for "there" and in the sentence their is no logical reference for the "their," so it seems to be an oversight in the editing.






                            share|improve this answer










                            New contributor




                            user338477 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                            Check out our Code of Conduct.










                            Good question, I agree that it's an error.



                            Possessive adjectives are used before gerunds (My coming surprised everyone) and not object pronouns (Me coming surprised everyone). This latter is heard more and more and thus represents a change in progress. But there is no possessive adjective for "there" and in the sentence their is no logical reference for the "their," so it seems to be an oversight in the editing.







                            share|improve this answer










                            New contributor




                            user338477 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                            share|improve this answer



                            share|improve this answer








                            edited 4 mins ago





















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                            answered 24 mins ago









                            user338477user338477

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                            11




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