Reference and Possession

Part I: Reference Referential forms point to people or objects in the real world or to other forms called “antecedents”  “antecedents”  and include the various types of personal pronouns, pronouns, the demonstratives, demonstratives, and a number of other referring forms. forms.

Forms that Express Reference

Personal Reference (Personal Pronouns) Subject and Object Pronouns 

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Subject Pronouns function as subject NPs The object pronoun forms can function as direct, indirect or prepositional objects Both the subject and object pronouns can function as subject and predicate nouns

A: B:

Who‟s there? It is I. (subj. pro.) It‟s me. (obj. pro.)

* the subject pronoun is the historically older and formally prescriptive form. * the object pronoun is currently more frequently used and is certainly favored in informal speech.

Possessive Determiners and Pronouns 

Two syntactic functions: a.) a possessive form can serve as a possessive determiner before a noun, or b.) it can replace an entire possessive NP. This is Sheila‟s book. (possessive determiner)

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This is h er  book.

This book is Sheila‟s. (possessive pronoun)

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This book is h e r s   .

 depending

on whether is precedes a noun or stands alone as a ponoun, two slightly different forms exist in all cases except the third person singular masculine form (his), which does not change.

* the

possessive determiners are core determiners like the definite article and the demonstratives and thus can be preceded by a predeterminer and followed by a post determiner: pre

core

post

noun head

all

his

other

books

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the possesive pronouns, however, replace an entire noun phrase and can function as subjects or objects:

 A: Hal has an excellent word processing program. B: Really? Mine has more options. (subject)  A: Do you like Joe‟s new car? B: I prefer yours. (object)

* the w h - question word routinely associated with these referential possessive form is w h o s e   – used more frequently as a determiner but ocassionally occurs as a pronoun:

Whose (umbrella) is this?

Reflexive Pronouns  

Pronouns ending in –self / -selves – reflects back When used in their underlying reflexive sense, reflexive pronouns replace NP objects that have the same referent as the subject of the sentence:

She (subject) cut herself (object). He (subject) asked himself (object) the same question.

Reciprocal Pronouns 

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each, each other  and one another  replace NP objects that typically refer back to NP subjects in the same sentence. However, for these forms the subject must be conjoined or plural:

Bob and Dick can‟t stand ea c h o t h e r   . The five children in that family helped o n e a n o t h e r  throughout their lives.

Demonstrative Reference Two dimensions:

proximity and number

The demonstratives can also function as pronouns as well as determiners, and can represent an entire subject or object NP. Therefore,

Please fill (t h i s f o r m / t h e s e f o r m s ) out. determiner function

If the context makes the noun “form(s)” clear, simply say: Please fill (th is / th ese) out. (pronominal function)

* like the possessive determiners and the definite article, the demonstrative determiners are core determiners that can occur with a predeterminer and a post determiner. pre

core

post

head noun

all

these

other

issues

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the w h -question word most closely associated with demonstratives is w h i c h   , it can readily serve either a determiner function or a pronominal function: Which (dress) did Margaret buy?

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Sufficient context is required for the pronominal use to be interpretable. Which did Margaret buy?

Comparative Reference IDENTITY The forms expressing referential identity – same and selfsame – are used mainly as determiners:

The young vagrant loitered on the corner. The (same / self-same)  young man had been there the day before.

GENERAL SIMILARITY The referential forms expressing general similarity  – s u c h   , s o , and l i k e w i s e    –  have different grammatical functions.  A:

Did you like Professor Grogan‟s lecture?

B1:

No, such argumentation tends to bore me.

B2:

No, such lectures bore me.

B3:

No, such a lecture tends to bore me.

S u c h is a determiner. As shown by the

three different ways of continuing the dialogue started by the speaker. A, it can directly precede noncount nouns (B1) and plural nouns (B2), but it is unusual among determiners in that it must be followed by a/an   when it modifies a singular count noun.

The referential form s o , when used to express general similarity, is quite parallel to t h i s used adverbially: Our table is (so / this) long. Do it like (so / this). 

both t h i s     and s o , when used as comparative referential forms generally co-occur with some sort of physical gesture or demonstration on the part of the speaker.

is a referential adverb expressing general similarity; it often occurs with the pro-verb d o , and together, they refer to a previously occuring verb phrase. Likewise

Mrs. Allison made a generous donation to the Cancer Society. We were hoping you would d o l ik e w i s e . 

DIFFERENCE The referential forms of difference are other  – including its related forms (the) others  and another  –  and else. They tell the listener/reader that one speaker/writer is referring to some target item other than the antecedent.

1.

Have you had a cookie? Yes? Have another!

2.

I needed some help, and I couldn‟t find Ralph, so I looked for someone else.

In 1, another   is used referentially to mean “another cookie,” that is, something in addition to but different from the antecedent (cookie). In 2, else in combination with someone refers back to Ralph but means “a  person other than or different from Ralph.”

PARTICULAR COMPARISON The particular comparatives (more, less, better, worse,  etc) can be used like pronouns or adverbs to refer to something in prior discourse.

3.

I finished my coffee. Amy offered me more.

4.

A:

How are you feeling?

B:

Better .

In 3, the “more” means “more coffee,”  in addition to what the speaker had finished, and in 4, the response “better”  means “I‟m  feeling better than before.” 

Many of the comparative reference forms allow us to say something more elliptically and concisely; thus, we can avoid repetition.

Part II: POSSESSION

Possessive Determiners and Pronouns 

Two syntactic functions: a.) a possessive form can serve as a possessive determiner before a noun, or b.) it can replace an entire possessive NP. This is Sheila‟s book. (possessive determiner)

>>

This is h er  book.

This book is Sheila‟s. (possessive pronoun)

>>

This book is h e r s   .

*depending on whether is precedes a noun or stands alone as a ponoun, two slightly different forms exist in all cases except the third person singular masculine form (his), which does not change.

INFLECTION In writing, the first is by inflecting regular singular nouns and irregular plural nouns not ending in s with ‘s as in the baby‟s crib the women‟s room or by adding an apostrophe after the s  ending of regular plural nouns and singular forms that already end in the sound s: the boys‟ crib Kansas‟ farmlands

The apostrophe added to regular plural nouns and singular nouns ending in s does nothing to alter the pronunciation of the word; however, the addition of the ‘s  to singular and irregular plural nouns is realized in speech as /s/ when it occurs after voiceless consonants, /z/ when it follows voiced consonants and vowels, and /əz/ after sibilants. Mac‟s

/mᴂks/

Sam‟s

/sᴂmz/

Grace‟s

/greysəz/

PERIPHRASIS The other way of signaling possession is by using the periphrastic of possessive form where the possessor and thing possessed are inverted if one compares this order with that of the inflected ‘s form. the man‟s name

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the name of the man

From the previous example, it might be inferred that the „s  possessive and of possessive forms are interchangeable. This is not usually the case. When the nouns are relatively short, double possessive inflections are possible: Bob‟s brother‟s car 

Double and even triple periphrastic possessives are also possible, regardless of whether the nouns involved are long or short. the cover of the folio of the sonnets of Shakespeare

Syntactically, we treat a noun with the possessive ‘s as a determiner, but a possessive determiner would always precede a possessive noun determiner (up to three determiners are possible):

The periphrastic possessive with of is generated as a noun phrase with a modifier prepositional phrase following the head noun:

The Scope of Referential Forms

The basic difference between the reflexive and reciprocal pronouns and all other personal pronouns is that the antecedent for reflexive and reciprocal pronouns must be in the same sentence or clause: John can take care of himself . Bob and Dick can‟t stand each other .

For possessive pronouns, the antecedent can be either within the same clause / sentence or in an earlier clause: Greg  loves his dog. (same clause) Do you know Greg ? I walk his  dog. (prior clause)

Subject and object pronouns, however; typically refer to an antecedent in a preceding clause: Do you know Sara? She  has just moved to  Atlanta. Q: Do you know Sara?  A: Yes, I‟ve  been acquainted with her   for ten years.

Some Oddities of Subject and Object Pronoun Use

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Certain inanimate objects are sometimes referred to with a feminine pronoun form, although the use of it is more common today. This has been true for ships, countries, cars, and until recently, hurricanes, which are now given alternative masculine and feminine names referred to as h e  or s h e  as appropriate.

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Sexist or discriminatory issues: When a person first arrives in a new country, he has many adjustments to make. Versus When a person first arrives in a new country, he or she ha many adjustments to make Or When people first arrive in a new country, they have many adjustments to make

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In verbless or elliptical utterances, the object pronoun sometimes replaces the subject form, which would be expected in a complete sentence or in a partially reduced sentence with a verb form: Q:

Who received the letter?

 A1:

I received the letter.

 A2:

I did.

 A3:

Me.

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In full sentences with the copula b e , personal pronouns functioning as subject noun predicates used to take the subject form in formal English: It is I. That is she.

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The usage mentioned in the previous slide is now changing even in formal English, and in informal English, the object form of the pronoun is definitely preferred: It is me. That‟s her.

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The desire to use formal English and be “correct” has led some native speakers to use „I’  even as a conjoined direct object or a conjoined object of the preposition. ? This concerns only you and I. ? Between you and I, he‟s a fool. ? The article was written by Nancy and I.

Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are not referential on and of themselves, they often serve as antecedents for referential forms or co-occur with referential forms like e l s e .  some

any

no

every 

-body

somebody

anybody

nobody

everybody

-one

someone

anyone

no one

everyone

-thing

something

anything

nothing

everything

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-body and  –one means “person” in general

*

-thing refers to an inanimate object or abstract concept, or an entity not clearly identifiable

 Whenever one is used to mean a cardinal number, an indefinite pronoun or compound no longer results. In this case there is a two-word sequence with the number one receiving stress:  Anyone could have gotten in free.  Any one of us could have gotten in free.

The Use of Plural Pronouns to Refer to Singular Nouns

The use of a formally plural pronoun such as they, them, or their to refer back to the following singular compounds is acceptable in informal usage, such as: Everyone has his own way of doing things. Everybody has their own way of doing things.

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everyone…     their Nesbitt (1980:60): The combination actually occurred far more than the „sexist‟ h i s form and the wordy h i s o r h er   form. Presumably, the same preference will carry over to the other indefinite pronouns and will result in their acceptability in combination with plural pronouns.

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Somebody is driving without their lights on.

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Has anybody brought a watch with them?

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Nobody had a good game, did they?

  Lagunoff (1992, 1997): indefinite pronouns to include other antecedents as well. She documents the use of singular they in written and spoken English from the 15th  century up to the present. She proposes that an antecedent allowing coreference with singular they must be unspecified in some way (i.e. number, gender, referentiality) • Someone left their sweatshirt here. • No one sends their children to public schools anymore. • Has anyone lost their pen? • Every (parent/mother/father) thinks their baby is

cute.