If youre not careful, several common situations will create unclear pronoun reference. Remote reference occurs when a pronoun is so far away from its antecedent that the relationship is unclear. Vague pronoun reference sometimes faulty pronoun reference occurs, not because there are too many nouns possibly being referred to, but because there is none. Vague and ambiguous pronoun reference by hannah jackson on. Exercise on vague or unclear pronoun reference in the following pairs of sentences, one sentence is correct, and the other sentence contains a vague or ambiguous pronoun reference. Childrens use of gesture in ambiguous pronoun interpretation volume 42 issue 3. Do not use they when referring to unspecified persons. This paper presents a strong set of results for resolving gendered ambiguous pronouns on the gendered ambiguous pronouns. Exercise on vague or unclear pronoun reference with answer. To avoid a vague pronoun reference, make sure that a pronoun cannot possibly refer to more than one antecedent.
If the revised sentence does not improve the pronoun reference, choose no improvement was made. Singular pronouns are used with singular antecedents, and plural pronouns are used with plural. The effect of thematic roles on pronoun use and frequency of reference. An ambiguous pronoun reference can be corrected or avoided in several ways. A pronoun must usually refer to a specific noun, called its referent or antecedent. Avoid most pronoun reference problems by following these rules. Coreference resolution is an important task for natural language understanding, and the resolution of ambiguous pronouns a. A pronouns reference will be unclear if it is ambiguous, implied, vague or indefinite. Drafting legal documents, ambiguity national archives. When pronouns like it, this, that, and which are referred to a concept that implied or word rather than a certain following noun. Print exposure predicts pronoun comprehension strategies in children. A faulty pronoun reference will result in a muddled sentence and a confused reader. Nicks hair is so long that this young man really needs to visit a barber before his interview at the bank.
Ambiguous reference sometimes called double reference occurs when there are two possible antecedents for a single pronoun. Here is another example of faulty pronoun reference where a pronoun is asked to refer to a whole group of words instead of a clear, single noun antecedent. We use pronouns to avoid repeating a word again and again. You can answer the practice questions before, during or after you. In the above sentences, henry viii is the antecedent and he is the pronoun.
Such errors, called faulty or vague pronoun reference, can confuse readers and obscure the intended meaning. Pdf ambiguous pronoun use in narratives of children with. As a result, the reader cannot know for sure whether kara sold the disk or the cabinet. Vague pronoun reference a pronoun without a specific antecedent. The pronoun it does not have a clear noun antecedent. Exercise caution when you have two singular antecedents with the same. Ambiguous reference an ambiguous reference occurs when the pronoun could refer to two. Pronoun resolution is part of coreference resolution, the task of pairing an expression to its referring entity. Clara opened the door becomes clara sighed heavily. Making pronoun references clear flashcards quizlet. When gloria set the pitcher on the glass table, it broke the pitcher broke when gloria set it on the glass table. Make pronouns agree in person and number with their antecedents.
The pronoun it can refer to the noun body or to the entire statement, telling you that your body is beautiful. Created by shreese williams information from real good grammar, too by mamie hixon revised by. Making pronoun references clear pronouns substitute for nouns. Rewrite the following sentences, correcting the ambiguous pronoun reference example. Ambiguous reference occurs when a pronoun can refer to more than one antecedent. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Pronouns are words that stand in for a noun in a sentence. In the book it says that sharks must move in order to breathe. A pronoun takes the place of a noun, but a pronoun must always refer clearly to its antecedent, which is the noun that the pronoun replaces. Which methods may be used to correct ambiguous pronoun references. Test your knowledge of ambiguous pronouns by completing this quiz and worksheet. An ambiguous pronoun happens when more than one feasible antecedent subsist. The pronoun it can refer to the noun union or to the implied process of decision making. Making pronoun references clear memorial university.
Pronoun comprehension and production in children with and without autism. To be understood, a pronoun must refer clearly to a single nearby antecedent. The effect of thematic roles on pronoun use and frequency of reference continuation. The pronoun reference is faulty here because the pronoun it has two antecedents. Which methods may be used to correct ambiguous pronoun.
If a reader does not know which of two or three earlier nouns a pronoun stands for, grammar books call that an ambiguous reference error. Better writing avoiding vague and ambiguous pronoun. The ball rolled down the hallway becomes the ball fell off the table. In one sentence, for example, the pronoun he might mean zippy the dog.
Pronoun reference is the practice of making pronouns refer clearly to the words they replace. The problem stems from the difference between how we use. Demonstrative pronounsthis, that, these, thoseare legitimate parts of the english language. Its worth noting that while the sentence is grammatically ambiguous in the use of the pronoun, its meaning is not ambiguous. Vague pronoun reference vague pronoun reference occurs in two situations. Childrens use of gesture in ambiguous pronoun interpretation. A pronoun it they youheshewe should have only one possible antecedent the noun that comes before the pronoun the noun the pronoun refers to. Most often a reader will try to connect the pronoun with the subject of a previous clause or sentence. This noun is called the pronouns antecedent unfortunately, it is very easy to create a sentence that uses a pronoun without a clear, unmistakable noun antecedent. We use cookies to make interactions with our website easy and meaningful, to better understand the use of our services, and to tailor advertising. Faulty pronoun reference is one of the most serious errors in writing because it can keep the reader from understanding your message.
Faulty pronoun reference means the antecedent of your pronoun is not totally and immediately clear. Outlaw they seriously consider publishing short story collections when some of the stories. Identify the method used to correct the ambiguous pronoun reference. There is no single rule for making pronoun reference clear in all cases. A pronoun should not refer to adjectives or possessive nouns. Ambiguous pronoun interpretation was tested pre and posttraining. The files arranged by the temporary workers were out of order, so we sent them back to the main office. When jon asked his father if he could borrow the car, jon said he needed it to go to. The singular possessive pronoun his is used incorrectly because it refers to the plural antecedent parents.
Unclear pronoun reference, along with a mismatch between the pronoun and its referent or antecedent, the word the pronoun is intended to replace, are issues that frequently cause students trouble. The word a pronoun refers to is called its antecedent. When you make statements that are ambiguous, you confuse the reader and hinder the meaning of the text. The joke works precisely because you first interpret it one way without any difficulty, and then the punchline insists on interpreting it differently. Modifiers, such as possessives, cannot serve as antecedents. Avoiding vague and ambiguous pronoun references vocabulary antecedent the noun which a pronoun substitutes for or refers to. Because the noun usually precedes the pronoun, the noun to which the pronoun refers is called the antecedent latin. You should not use adjectives, or nouns or pronouns in the possessive case, as antecedents. Pronoun reference recognize pronoun reference when you see it. A pronoun may point back to other items in a text anaphoric reference orless commonlypoint ahead to a later part of the text cataphoric reference.
If a pronoun could refer to more than one person or object in a sentence, repeat the name of the individual or. Since the legal profession is highly valued by the public, they are very well paid. Using pronouns the writing centre university of ottawa. An ambiguous pronoun reference is one in which the antecedent is not clear. Vague reference occurs when a pronoun refers to a word that is only implied, not stated. Better writing avoiding vague and ambiguous pronoun references. A pronoun is a word used to stand for or take the place of a noun a pronoun should refer clearly to one, clear, unmistakable noun coming before the pronoun. In traditional grammar, a construction in which a pronoun doesnt refer clearly and unambiguously to its antecedent is called faulty pronoun reference. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. Have you ever found yourself rereading a sentence because you came across a word such as it or them and could not tell which of two things it referred to. Nick used to love water skiing and swimming in florida lakes, but now he worries. You can enter your answers directly into this document. However, sometimes ambiguity is used deliberately to add humor to a text.
Terms in this set 4 avoid ambiguous or remote pronoun reference. Therefore we can again say that the positions of the antecedent and pronoun do not matter as long as the reference is unique and logical. I think mike cruickshanks new profit maximiser service is going to be one of the big hits and i can say hand on heart, if you follow the instructions, and just get involved, you will make a lot of money over the coming weeks, months and years. The rule a pronoun must refer to a single noun, which acts as its antecedent. The modifier is technically not a noun, so it may not function as an antecedent.
Infants contribution to the achievement of joint reference. When jon asked his father if he could borrow the car, he said he needed it to go to work. Understanding pronouns a pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. A pronoun depends on a noun called the pronouns antecedent for meaning. Pronoun reference and antecedent agreement its not as bad as it sounds. You must be very careful when using pronouns in order to be sure that your reader understands what.
An ambiguous pronoun is one that is used in a confusing or vague manner. Unless theres some mysterious it in the book, this is wrong. Combined all the articles in this series and added a single pdf. You could fix this either by referring to both women with they, if it is indeed the case that both were honored at the awards ceremony after dinner, or by replacing she with the name of the woman being specified. It is not yet clear how the drug raprime affects the body. Whenever pronouns are used, it should be unmistakably clear which noun the pronoun is standing in for. If a pronoun seems to refer to more than one antecedent, either reword the sentence to make the antecedent clear or eliminate the pronoun. Learning speechinternal cues to pronoun interpretation from co. Also, it must be clear which noun the pronoun is substituting for. That is, a pronoun is misused when the real noun to which it refers has not actually been mentioned.
Many people a who buy a new puppy believe that the young dog should automatically behave as well as lassie, b who had years of obedience training and c which was a mature animal with control of her bladder. Pronouns work well when they stand in for specific nouns, but sometimes they are used to refer to vague, unnamed entities. The plural pronoun their correctly refers to the plural word parents. Ambiguous pronoun reference a pronoun with multiple, possible antecedents. But you must use them with care because, in some constructions, the antecedents of these pronouns can be vague. For example, i n the sentence anne left the party because she felt unwell. You probably do not want your readers to puzzle over the same thing. Just as a chameleon changes its color to coordinate with its environment, a pronoun alters. A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or refers back to a noun already mentioned. The noun which a pronoun substitutes for or refers to. A pronoun must refer to a single noun, which acts as its antecedent. The antecedent is the word or words that a pronoun replaces. Roger told david that he himself had to work monday.
1644 1607 1004 1167 1031 1386 1023 137 226 104 44 476 256 1547 395 1548 789 1177 802 1054 271 320 1063 565 635 1122 1232 1423 550 335 29 742 94 361 883 1207 855 621 1338 1070 1137 515 1166 558 704