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code1058
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Pronoun antecedent question

by code1058 Mon Mar 17, 2014 1:32 am

Source: MG SC ed.4 page 93. In Action #6

    Well-informed people know that Bordeaux is a French region whose famous export is the wine that bears its name.


Since this is the correct answer the possessive pronoun its must be unambiguously referring to "French region" - what is the reasoning/rule behind why it is not referring to "the wine"?

Is it the context which makes it illogical to refer to "the wine" or is it because "which" is already referring to "the wine" (just a theory)?

I thought we should not rely on the fact that it is obvious in the context. Is that not correct?

Thank you
RonPurewal
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Re: Pronoun antecedent question

by RonPurewal Tue Mar 18, 2014 9:33 am

code1058 Wrote:I thought we should not rely on the fact that it is obvious in the context. Is that not correct?

Thank you


Yes, that's not correct. (:

If the meaning of a pronoun is obvious from context"”and, of course, the pronoun actually matches that noun (singular-singular or plural-plural)"”then the pronoun is fine. Period. End of story.

Think about it"”this is the only decent way pronouns could possibly work.
If every singular pronoun required the presence of exactly one singular noun in the sentence, and likewise for plurals, then pronouns would be essentially useless except in extremely short sentences.