Reference of Pronouns antecedent vs. pronoun

1
Reference of Pronounsantecedent vs. pronoun

• Ambiguous reference
• Broad reference
• Weak reference

Complied by Ms. Terri Yueh
2
Case of Pronouns

• The Nominative case
• The Objective case
• The Possessive case

3
The Nominative case

• Subject of verb, Subject complement
• Infinitive to be without a subject
• I will go.
• I thought he had left the office.
• No one can do as well as he (can).
• The persons mentioned were she and Rob.
• My friend and I went to town.
• He knows who sent the money.
• Who do you think called me last night?
• The best player was thought to be he.
• The man who James says will be our next governor
  in the room.

4
2. The objective case

• Object of a verb
• They invited Mary and me to the party.
• The chairman appointed three of us girlsMary,
  Sue, and meto the party.
• Whom do you think we saw last night?
• He is the boy whom we meet in the party.
• Object of a preposition
• Supplied were sent to them.
• Whom were you talking to?
• An excellent report was given by him.
• Just between you and me, Mary is going to be
  promoted.
• Infinitive to be with subject
• We thought the guests to be them.
• She took him to be me.

5
3. The Possessive case

• Possessive adjective
• My book is on the table.
• Its time for your car to have its oil changed.
• Your presentation was great.
• Possessive pronoun
• Theirs is the first car in line.
• The passport is mine.

6
Ambiguous reference

• Amy told her aunt that her money had been stolen.
• When tourists first arrived in this new resort,
  the locals thought they were lucky people.

7
Broad reference

• Not until the last moment will a man tell his
  wife about his extramarital affair, and it is a
  leading cause of divorce.
• Not until the last moment will a man tell his
  wife about his extramarital affair such secrecy
  is a leading cause of divorce.
• Not until the last moment will a man tell his
  wife about his extramarital affair such belated
  confessions are a leading cause of divorce.
• Not until the last moment will a man tell his
  wife about his extramarital affair such affairs
  are a leading cause of divorce.

8
Weak reference

• My father is a chemist. This is a profession I
  intend to follow.
• When she thrust a stick into the rat hole, it ran
  out and bit her.
• Although the new regulations allow them to do it,
  high school graduates seldom go abroad for higher
  education. ?
• High school graduates seldom go abroad for higher
  education,
• although the new regulations allow them to do
  so.
• The students did not hand in his report on time
  and because of it was flunked by the teacher. ?
• The students did not hand in his report on
  time and was therefore flunked by the teacher.

9
Consistency of Pronoun Reference

• Remember that if you are referring to you, or we,
  or I, or one, try to remain consistently within
  the same case.
• One You should observe this carefully whenever
  you write.
• While one travels abroad, you should always keep
  your passport in a safe place. ?
• While traveling abroad, one should always keep
  ones passport in a safe place.
• When a teacher takes his or her students on a
  field trip, he or she is responsible for their
  safety.