Exercise 32.4
Please help with this assignment. I'm having trouble with it.
Rive to clarify pronoun reference. Most can be revised in many ways. If a pronoun refers ambiguously to more than one possible antecedent, revise the sentence to reflect each possible meaning.
1. All scholarship applicants must fill out a financial aid form, meet with the dean and write a letter to the committee members. The deadline is October 24, so they should start the process as soon as possible.
2. Patients on medication man relate better to their therapist, be less vulnerable to what disturbs them, and be more responsive to them.
3. Ms. Dunbar wanted to speak to my mother before she spoke to me.
4. In Texas, you often hear about the influence of big oil corporations.
5. A small band of protestors picketed the new shopping center, which outraged many residents.
1. All scholarship applicants must fill out a financial aid form, meet with the dean and write a letter to the committee members. The deadline is October 24, so they should start the process as soon as possible.
Who are "they" in the second sentence?
2. Patients on medication man<~~is this "may"? relate better to their therapist, be less vulnerable to what disturbs them, and be more responsive to them.
Who are "them" at the end of the sentence?
3. Ms. Dunbar wanted to speak to my mother before she spoke to me.
Who is "she"?
4. In Texas, you often hear about the influence of big oil corporations.
The only pronoun in this sentence is "you" -- to whom is "you" referring?
5. A small band of protestors picketed the new shopping center, which outraged many residents.
To what NOUN is "which" referring?
To clarify pronoun reference in these sentences, we need to make sure that the pronouns are clearly referring to their intended antecedents. Here's how we can revise each sentence:
1. All scholarship applicants must fill out a financial aid form, meet with the dean, and write a letter to the committee members. The deadline is October 24, so the applicants should start the process as soon as possible.
Explanation: In the original sentence, the pronoun "they" is potentially ambiguous since it could refer to either the scholarship applicants or the committee members. To clarify, we revise the sentence to explicitly mention "the applicants."
2. Patients on medication may relate better to their therapist, be less vulnerable to what disturbs them, and be more responsive to the therapist.
Explanation: In the original sentence, the pronoun "them" is potentially ambiguous since it could refer to either the patients or the therapist. To clarify, we revise the sentence to mention "the therapist" explicitly in the third part.
3. Ms. Dunbar wanted to speak to my mother before she spoke to me.
Explanation: In the original sentence, the pronoun "she" is ambiguous since it can refer to either Ms. Dunbar or my mother. To clarify, we need to revise the sentence to indicate both individuals, such as: "Ms. Dunbar wanted to speak to my mother before she, Ms. Dunbar, spoke to me."
4. In Texas, you often hear about the influence of big oil corporations.
Explanation: The sentence is clear and does not require any revision as there is no pronoun reference ambiguity.
5. A small band of protestors picketed the new shopping center, which outraged many residents.
Explanation: In the original sentence, the pronoun "which" is potentially ambiguous since it could refer to either the picketing by the protestors or the new shopping center itself. To clarify, we can revise the sentence to explicitly mention the cause of the outrage, such as: "The picketing by a small band of protestors outraged many residents."