Reference and Possession

(1)

(2)

(3)

Part I: Reference

Referential forms point to people or

objects in the real world or to other

forms called

“antecedents” and

“antecedents”

and

include

the

various

types

of

include

the

various

types

of

personal

pronouns

personal

pronouns,,

the

demonstratives

demonstratives, and a number of

, and a number of

other referring forms

(4)

(5)

F

orms

that Express

Reference

(6)

Personal Reference

(Personal Pronouns)

Subject and Object Pronouns



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

(7)

(8)

A:

Who‟s there?

B:

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.

(9)

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. >> This is h er book. (possessive determiner)

This book is Sheila‟s. >> This book is hers . (possessive pronoun)

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.

(10)

(11)

*

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

(12)



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?

(13)

*

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:

(14)

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.

(15)

Reciprocal Pronouns

 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

each o ther

.

The five children in that family helped

o n e another

throughout their lives.

(16)

Demonstrative Reference

(17)

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 / th e s e fo r m s )

out.

(18)

If the context makes the noun

“form(s)” clear, simply say:

Please fill

(th is / th ese)

out.

(19)

* 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

(20)

 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?

 Sufficient context is required for the pronominal

use to be interpretable.

(21)

Comparative Reference

IDENTITY

The forms expressing referential identity – same and self-same – are used mainly as determiners:

The young vagrant loitered on the corner.

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

(22)

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.

(23)

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

(24)

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 so, when used as comparative

referential forms generally co-occur with some sort of physical gesture or demonstration on the part of the speaker.

(25)

L i k e w i s e

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.

Mrs. Allison made a generous donation to

the Cancer Society. We were hoping you

would

d o l ik e w i s e

.

(26)

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.

(27)

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.”

(28)

PARTICULAR COMPARISON

The particular comparatives (more, less,

better, worse, etc) can be used like

pronouns or adverbs to refer to something

in prior discourse.

(29)

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.

(30)

(31)

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. >> This is h er book. (possessive determiner)

This book is Sheila‟s. >> This book is hers . (possessive pronoun)

*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.

(32)

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

(33)

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/

(34)

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.

(35)

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:

(36)

Double and even triple periphrastic

possessives are also possible, regardless

of whether the nouns involved are long or

short.

(37)

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):

(38)

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

(39)

The Scope of

(40)

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 .

(41)

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)

(42)

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.

(43)

Some Oddities of

Subject and Object

(44)



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

(45)

 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

(46)

 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.

(47)



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.

(48)



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.

(49)

 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.

(50)

Indefinite

Pronouns

(51)

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

some any no every

-body somebody anybody nobody everybody -one someone anyone no one everyone -thing something anything nothing everything

* -body and –one means “person” in general

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

(52)

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.

(53)

The Use of Plural

Pronouns to Refer to

Singular Nouns

(54)

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.

(55)

 Nesbitt (1980:60): The e v e r y o n e … their

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.

 Somebody is driving without their lights on.  Has anybody brought a watch with them?  Nobody had a good game, did they?