Re: It is/They are a nice pair of shoes to buy. (Are they all acceptable?)

datere wrote:
*It is a nice pair of shoes to buy.
*They are a nice pair of shoes to buy.

I like this pair. How much *is it?
I like this pair. How much *are they?

Are they all acceptable? I can't find it in my grammar book, so I come
here for some opinions.
Thank you for your reply.

In a _real_ conversation you will find that these are all accepted.

I think that the first example in each pair would be considered more correct usage in the US.

However, in a conversational negotiation such as this (between friends or between the customer and the clerk), the referent(s) will be constantly and rapidly switching from "these" to "those" to "this pair" to "that pair" (to "It" to They"). There is a lot of pointing, and hefting and putting next to other pairs, sometimes holding one of each pair side-by-side as the comments are being made.



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