Pronoun introduced before its antecedent
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Pronoun introduced before its antecedent
I was speaking to a college-educated American woman in her 80s, born and raised in the metropolitan east coast of the United States.
We were on a new topic, and without any preceding context, she said:
Her accountant told Janet that she really ought to diversify her portfolio.
It's a very efficient construction, but I have never heard a native English speaker introduce a pronoun prior to its antecedent. For the first few words of her sentence, I was in some suspense, wondering what she was referring to.
I know that some other languages can introduce placeholders which get filled in later in the sentence, but I'm not aware of anything equivalent in English.
Is this a known construction among any segment of the English-speaking population?
pronoun references
asked May 31 at 14:19
SlowMagicSlowMagic
1805
add a comment |
I was speaking to a college-educated American woman in her 80s, born and raised in the metropolitan east coast of the United States.
We were on a new topic, and without any preceding context, she said:
Her accountant told Janet that she really ought to diversify her portfolio.
It's a very efficient construction, but I have never heard a native English speaker introduce a pronoun prior to its antecedent. For the first few words of her sentence, I was in some suspense, wondering what she was referring to.
I know that some other languages can introduce placeholders which get filled in later in the sentence, but I'm not aware of anything equivalent in English.
Is this a known construction among any segment of the English-speaking population?
pronoun references
asked May 31 at 14:19
SlowMagicSlowMagic
1805
3
Your example with "her" before coreferent Janet is perfectly okay in English -- in all dialects, so far as I know.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:36
1
You might be interested in government and binding theory (specifically, principles A, B, and C), which cover this sort of thing.
– anomaly
Jun 1 at 13:49
add a comment |
I was speaking to a college-educated American woman in her 80s, born and raised in the metropolitan east coast of the United States.
We were on a new topic, and without any preceding context, she said:
Her accountant told Janet that she really ought to diversify her portfolio.
It's a very efficient construction, but I have never heard a native English speaker introduce a pronoun prior to its antecedent. For the first few words of her sentence, I was in some suspense, wondering what she was referring to.
I know that some other languages can introduce placeholders which get filled in later in the sentence, but I'm not aware of anything equivalent in English.
Is this a known construction among any segment of the English-speaking population?
pronoun references
asked May 31 at 14:19
SlowMagicSlowMagic
1805
I was speaking to a college-educated American woman in her 80s, born and raised in the metropolitan east coast of the United States.
We were on a new topic, and without any preceding context, she said:
Her accountant told Janet that she really ought to diversify her portfolio.
It's a very efficient construction, but I have never heard a native English speaker introduce a pronoun prior to its antecedent. For the first few words of her sentence, I was in some suspense, wondering what she was referring to.
I know that some other languages can introduce placeholders which get filled in later in the sentence, but I'm not aware of anything equivalent in English.
Is this a known construction among any segment of the English-speaking population?
pronoun references
pronoun references
asked May 31 at 14:19
SlowMagicSlowMagic
1805
asked May 31 at 14:19
SlowMagicSlowMagic
1805
asked May 31 at 14:19
SlowMagicSlowMagic
1805
asked May 31 at 14:19
SlowMagicSlowMagic
1805
asked May 31 at 14:19
SlowMagicSlowMagic
1805
1805
3
Your example with "her" before coreferent Janet is perfectly okay in English -- in all dialects, so far as I know.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:36
1
You might be interested in government and binding theory (specifically, principles A, B, and C), which cover this sort of thing.
– anomaly
Jun 1 at 13:49
add a comment |
3
Your example with "her" before coreferent Janet is perfectly okay in English -- in all dialects, so far as I know.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:36
1
You might be interested in government and binding theory (specifically, principles A, B, and C), which cover this sort of thing.
– anomaly
Jun 1 at 13:49
3
3
Your example with "her" before coreferent Janet is perfectly okay in English -- in all dialects, so far as I know.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:36
Your example with "her" before coreferent Janet is perfectly okay in English -- in all dialects, so far as I know.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:36
1
1
You might be interested in government and binding theory (specifically, principles A, B, and C), which cover this sort of thing.
– anomaly
Jun 1 at 13:49
You might be interested in government and binding theory (specifically, principles A, B, and C), which cover this sort of thing.
– anomaly
Jun 1 at 13:49
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
Yes, it's been extensively studied; perhaps the first paper was Ron Langacker's 1966 "On Pronominalization and the Chain of Command". The major generalization seems to be statable as
- A pronoun may not both precede and command its antecedent.
In the following examples Marilyn('s) and her are meant to be co-referential:
I talked to Marilyn before her operation. (Pronoun does not command or precede antecedent)
Before her operation I talked to Marilyn. (Pronoun precedes but does not command)
Before Marilyn's operation I talked to her. (Pronoun commands but does not precede)- *I talked to her before Marilyn's operation. (Pronoun precedes and commands - ungrammatical)
"Command" (sometimes called "C-Command") is a technical relation between constituents in syntax; "A commands B" essentially means "A is in a higher clause than B". The reason (4) is ungrammatical is that the antecedent is in a subordinate clause while the pronoun is in the main clause, and the pronoun comes before the antecedent. You can do one or the other -- or neither -- but not both.
answered May 31 at 16:05
jlawlerjlawler
8,27912341
I don't think Command and C-command have become synonyms. Command concerns only clause structure.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:33
1
A further note: the fact that "her" in the example can precede its antecedent "Janet" is a fact of English independent of any linguist's description of it. So "yes" really answers the question.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:53
7
#4 is actually grammatical, but it must mean that "Marilyn" and "her" refer to different people. There is no way for them to be co-referential.
– CJ Dennis
Jun 1 at 0:06
1
@GregLee- do you really think that "His dog bit John", without context, suffices to tell us that it is John's dog?
– amI
Jun 1 at 4:51
add a comment |
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Yes, it's been extensively studied; perhaps the first paper was Ron Langacker's 1966 "On Pronominalization and the Chain of Command". The major generalization seems to be statable as
- A pronoun may not both precede and command its antecedent.
In the following examples Marilyn('s) and her are meant to be co-referential:
I talked to Marilyn before her operation. (Pronoun does not command or precede antecedent)
Before her operation I talked to Marilyn. (Pronoun precedes but does not command)
Before Marilyn's operation I talked to her. (Pronoun commands but does not precede)- *I talked to her before Marilyn's operation. (Pronoun precedes and commands - ungrammatical)
"Command" (sometimes called "C-Command") is a technical relation between constituents in syntax; "A commands B" essentially means "A is in a higher clause than B". The reason (4) is ungrammatical is that the antecedent is in a subordinate clause while the pronoun is in the main clause, and the pronoun comes before the antecedent. You can do one or the other -- or neither -- but not both.
answered May 31 at 16:05
jlawlerjlawler
8,27912341
I don't think Command and C-command have become synonyms. Command concerns only clause structure.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:33
1
A further note: the fact that "her" in the example can precede its antecedent "Janet" is a fact of English independent of any linguist's description of it. So "yes" really answers the question.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:53
7
#4 is actually grammatical, but it must mean that "Marilyn" and "her" refer to different people. There is no way for them to be co-referential.
– CJ Dennis
Jun 1 at 0:06
1
@GregLee- do you really think that "His dog bit John", without context, suffices to tell us that it is John's dog?
– amI
Jun 1 at 4:51
add a comment |
Yes, it's been extensively studied; perhaps the first paper was Ron Langacker's 1966 "On Pronominalization and the Chain of Command". The major generalization seems to be statable as
- A pronoun may not both precede and command its antecedent.
In the following examples Marilyn('s) and her are meant to be co-referential:
I talked to Marilyn before her operation. (Pronoun does not command or precede antecedent)
Before her operation I talked to Marilyn. (Pronoun precedes but does not command)
Before Marilyn's operation I talked to her. (Pronoun commands but does not precede)- *I talked to her before Marilyn's operation. (Pronoun precedes and commands - ungrammatical)
"Command" (sometimes called "C-Command") is a technical relation between constituents in syntax; "A commands B" essentially means "A is in a higher clause than B". The reason (4) is ungrammatical is that the antecedent is in a subordinate clause while the pronoun is in the main clause, and the pronoun comes before the antecedent. You can do one or the other -- or neither -- but not both.
answered May 31 at 16:05
jlawlerjlawler
8,27912341
I don't think Command and C-command have become synonyms. Command concerns only clause structure.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:33
1
A further note: the fact that "her" in the example can precede its antecedent "Janet" is a fact of English independent of any linguist's description of it. So "yes" really answers the question.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:53
7
#4 is actually grammatical, but it must mean that "Marilyn" and "her" refer to different people. There is no way for them to be co-referential.
– CJ Dennis
Jun 1 at 0:06
1
@GregLee- do you really think that "His dog bit John", without context, suffices to tell us that it is John's dog?
– amI
Jun 1 at 4:51
add a comment |
Yes, it's been extensively studied; perhaps the first paper was Ron Langacker's 1966 "On Pronominalization and the Chain of Command". The major generalization seems to be statable as
- A pronoun may not both precede and command its antecedent.
In the following examples Marilyn('s) and her are meant to be co-referential:
I talked to Marilyn before her operation. (Pronoun does not command or precede antecedent)
Before her operation I talked to Marilyn. (Pronoun precedes but does not command)
Before Marilyn's operation I talked to her. (Pronoun commands but does not precede)- *I talked to her before Marilyn's operation. (Pronoun precedes and commands - ungrammatical)
"Command" (sometimes called "C-Command") is a technical relation between constituents in syntax; "A commands B" essentially means "A is in a higher clause than B". The reason (4) is ungrammatical is that the antecedent is in a subordinate clause while the pronoun is in the main clause, and the pronoun comes before the antecedent. You can do one or the other -- or neither -- but not both.
answered May 31 at 16:05
jlawlerjlawler
8,27912341
Yes, it's been extensively studied; perhaps the first paper was Ron Langacker's 1966 "On Pronominalization and the Chain of Command". The major generalization seems to be statable as
- A pronoun may not both precede and command its antecedent.
In the following examples Marilyn('s) and her are meant to be co-referential:
I talked to Marilyn before her operation. (Pronoun does not command or precede antecedent)
Before her operation I talked to Marilyn. (Pronoun precedes but does not command)
Before Marilyn's operation I talked to her. (Pronoun commands but does not precede)- *I talked to her before Marilyn's operation. (Pronoun precedes and commands - ungrammatical)
"Command" (sometimes called "C-Command") is a technical relation between constituents in syntax; "A commands B" essentially means "A is in a higher clause than B". The reason (4) is ungrammatical is that the antecedent is in a subordinate clause while the pronoun is in the main clause, and the pronoun comes before the antecedent. You can do one or the other -- or neither -- but not both.
answered May 31 at 16:05
jlawlerjlawler
8,27912341
edited Jun 2 at 14:32
answered May 31 at 16:05
jlawlerjlawler
8,27912341
answered May 31 at 16:05
jlawlerjlawler
8,27912341
answered May 31 at 16:05
jlawlerjlawler
8,27912341
8,27912341
I don't think Command and C-command have become synonyms. Command concerns only clause structure.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:33
1
A further note: the fact that "her" in the example can precede its antecedent "Janet" is a fact of English independent of any linguist's description of it. So "yes" really answers the question.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:53
7
#4 is actually grammatical, but it must mean that "Marilyn" and "her" refer to different people. There is no way for them to be co-referential.
– CJ Dennis
Jun 1 at 0:06
1
@GregLee- do you really think that "His dog bit John", without context, suffices to tell us that it is John's dog?
– amI
Jun 1 at 4:51
add a comment |
I don't think Command and C-command have become synonyms. Command concerns only clause structure.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:33
1
A further note: the fact that "her" in the example can precede its antecedent "Janet" is a fact of English independent of any linguist's description of it. So "yes" really answers the question.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:53
7
#4 is actually grammatical, but it must mean that "Marilyn" and "her" refer to different people. There is no way for them to be co-referential.
– CJ Dennis
Jun 1 at 0:06
1
@GregLee- do you really think that "His dog bit John", without context, suffices to tell us that it is John's dog?
– amI
Jun 1 at 4:51
I don't think Command and C-command have become synonyms. Command concerns only clause structure.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:33
I don't think Command and C-command have become synonyms. Command concerns only clause structure.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:33
1
1
A further note: the fact that "her" in the example can precede its antecedent "Janet" is a fact of English independent of any linguist's description of it. So "yes" really answers the question.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:53
A further note: the fact that "her" in the example can precede its antecedent "Janet" is a fact of English independent of any linguist's description of it. So "yes" really answers the question.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:53
7
7
#4 is actually grammatical, but it must mean that "Marilyn" and "her" refer to different people. There is no way for them to be co-referential.
– CJ Dennis
Jun 1 at 0:06
#4 is actually grammatical, but it must mean that "Marilyn" and "her" refer to different people. There is no way for them to be co-referential.
– CJ Dennis
Jun 1 at 0:06
1
1
@GregLee- do you really think that "His dog bit John", without context, suffices to tell us that it is John's dog?
– amI
Jun 1 at 4:51
@GregLee- do you really think that "His dog bit John", without context, suffices to tell us that it is John's dog?
– amI
Jun 1 at 4:51
add a comment |
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3
Your example with "her" before coreferent Janet is perfectly okay in English -- in all dialects, so far as I know.
– Greg Lee
May 31 at 18:36
1
You might be interested in government and binding theory (specifically, principles A, B, and C), which cover this sort of thing.
– anomaly
Jun 1 at 13:49