Pronoun Reference

Pronoun Reference Language Art H11-12 Jessica Kim 03.26.10

Clear Reference • A pronoun must refer clearly to only one antecedent. • A pronoun should follow its antecedent closely enough to make the relationship between the two words clear. For example Ambiguous Mary told her sister that she could do anything Clear Mary told her sister, “You can do anything” Mary told her sister, “I can do anything” You can do anything! I can do anything!

C Jason moved into the dormitory with the idea of having the bottom bunk. It was the last one on Library Drive. Because second sentence describe first sentence. This mean It describe bottom bunk. So it is Clear sentence Sarah brought her chemistry textbook from her roommate. She found it at the bottom of a stack of books. Because we can know who she is. Fist sentence and second sentence are make sense. Another roommate, Nathaniel, invited Jason to play a game of tennis. He looked everywhere in his room but could not find his racket. Because many subjects in first sentence. Therefore we can’t know who he is. C U

Reference to a Noun, Not an implied Noun • A pronoun must refer to a noun that is actually stated, not to an idea only implied by the sentence. Implied When I got to the desk, he told me that I had waited in the wrong line. Stated When I got to the desk, the ticket agent told me that I had waited in the wrong line. Implied noun is surprisingly common. Implied noun phrase is most commonly used as a generic plural referring to human beings.

S Practice the skill My sister Elise visited one college residence hall twice, but she never got to stay overnight in it until her freshman year of college. When my sister and I drove on campus, they directed us to the registration building (Because we don’t know who are they. So it is implied noun) When Elise asked about getting voice mail, they said it would be no problem. I I

Reference to a Noun That Is Not a Modifier • A pronoun should refer to a noun that has a regular noun function, such as a subject of an object. • Nouns as modifiers are interpreted according to their semantic relation towards the governing noun. Weak Our neighbor’s barn roof flew off during the storm, but it remained standing with no damage to the walls or content. Better Our neighbor’s barn roof flew off during the storm, but the barn remained standing with no damage to the walls or content.

Review the skill Juana wanted to find Tom. She got off at the next exit and doubled back. Isael read the latest restaurant reviews. He wanted to find a good restaurant. • To find Tom, Juana got off at the next exit and doubled back. • or Juana got off at the next exit and doubled back to find Jeff To find a good restaurant, Isael read the latest restaurant reviews. or Isaelread the latest restaurant reviews to find a good restaurant.

Verbal phrases are good ways to show that two actions happened at the same time: 1. to find + got off 2. To read + to find restaurant But often verbal phrases also show the purpose for an action in the sentence: 1. Juana got offat the next exit. Why? because she wanted to find Tom 2. Israel read the latest restaurant reviews. Why? Because he wanted to find a good restaurant. So verbal phrases have two functions: To show a time relationship between the action in the verbal phrase and the action in the main clause of the sentence. To show the purpose of the action in the main clause

References • http://jonsenglishsite.info/Sent%20Comb%20Pages/Unit12VerbalPhrases.htm, Example 3, paragraph 7-13 • http://ufal.mff.cuni.cz/~toman/pedt_manual/ch08s09s03.html , First sentence • Writing & Grammar 12, Second Edition, Judith W. Lanier.

Pronoun Reference