posted by rfvv today at 4:26pm.

posted by rfvv Wednesday, September 6, 2017 at 3:31pm.

The blues in Picasso's painting seem to communicate his sadness. It makes me a little sad, too.
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Q1: Do we have to use the plural form 'blues'?
Q2: What does 'It' refer to in the second sentence? Does it refer to 'The blues' or 'Picasso's painting'?
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English - Writeacher Wednesday, September 6, 2017 at 3:39pm
Yes, because the reference is to different shades of blue.

I'd say "it" is referring to "sadness" in the previous sentence.
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When you look at the painting, how do you feel? Picasso painted it when his close friend died. The blues in Picasso's painting seem to communicate his sadness. It makes me a little sad, too.
(Thank you for your help. In this context, doesn't 'it' refer to 'the painting' in the last sentence?)

English - Writeacher today at 4:29pm
"It" could refer to his sadness or to the painting that communicates his sadness. I don't think it's clear.

English - rfvv today at 5:55pm
1. The blues in the painting seem to communicate his sadness. It makes me a little sad, too.

2. The blues in the painting seem to communicate his sadness, and it makes me a little sad, too.

3. The blues in the painting seem to communicate his sadness, which makes me a little sad, too.
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I've changes sentences as in the above.
In #3, what is the antecedent of 'which'? Isn't it 'his sadness'? Or can the antecedent of 'which' be 'the painting? If the antecedent of 'which' is 'his sadness,' it refers 'his sadness.' If the antecedent of 'which' is 'the painting,' it refers to 'the painting.' Is that right?

As Writeacher already said, the pronoun, "it" or "which", can refer to the painting or the sadness. It's not very clear. I'd say the painting, the sadness, OR the blue colors. It really doesn't matter. The total effect of the blue colors, the painting, and the sadness can make the viewer feel sad.

In sentence #3, the antecedent of 'which' can be either 'his sadness' or 'the painting'. Both interpretations are grammatically correct and make sense in this context.

If the antecedent of 'which' is 'his sadness', then the sentence would mean that the sadness communicated by the blues in the painting makes the speaker a little sad too.

If the antecedent of 'which' is 'the painting', then the sentence would mean that the fact that the blues in the painting communicate Picasso's sadness makes the speaker a little sad too.

Both interpretations are valid based on the context of the sentence.