TASK 3

Antecedents of Pronouns & Dangling Constructions

Antecedents of Pronouns

In English grammar, an antecedent is a word that will be replaced by another word later in the sentence. Most often the word replacing the antecedent is a pronoun. In the sentence, "When Marcel went out in the rain, he got wet," "Marcel" is the antecedent to the pronoun "he." Understanding the antecedent-word relationship is crucial to grasping how English works.

In grammar, an antecedent is a word that another word refers back to. That word is technically called a proform, and while English allows for types of antecedents based on many parts of speech, such as pro-verbs and pro-adverbs, it is far more common for a pronoun to refer to an antecedent.

An antecedent comes before a pronoun. A pronoun and its antecedent must agree in gender and number. For example, if the antecedent is singular and female, the pronoun must refer to a single female. If the antecedent is plural, then the pronoun must be plural as well.

It is important to make sure that your pronouns have clear antecedents. Sometimes the references are vague and the reader cannot figure out to whom a pronoun is referring

Examples of Antecedents:

Examples of Pronouns and Antecedents:

1. Miranda = she or her
2. Rama and Calvin = they or them
3. Lewis = he or him

Examples of Pronouns and Antecedents in a Sentence:

1. Jeremy Put his laptop on the desk

2.  Mr. and Mrs. Farels are painting their house.

3. Tom, Chris, and I would like for you to come with us.

Taking the place of an antecedent is what a pronoun is for. Compare these two sentences:

•   When John comes inside, John will dry off with John's towel in John's bathroom.

•   When John comes inside, he will dry off with his towel in his bathroom.

Dangling Constructions

A dangling construction is a group of words that the writer intends to be a modifier for a noun or phrase but the noun or phrase is not actually in the sentence.  Instead, the modifier erroneously describes a noun or phrase that is in the sentence sometimes with humorous results.

A dangling modifier is one that modifies a word or phrase not clearly stated in the sentence; in other words, dangling modifiers only suggest, but do not name, the thing they modify. Phrases and clauses with dangling modifiers do not have expressed subjects. Consequently, readers expect them to modify the following noun or noun phrase. Because they do not do so, they are considered dangling modifiers.

Examples of Dangling constructions:

·         After eating, the waiter gave us the bill.

(The sentence grammar says the waiter did the eating but that's not what the writer really means.)

·         While running, my shoe lost its heel. (I couldn’t slow that shoe down!)

·         After reading the book, the movie is going to be great.

·         Wrapped in wax paper, the picnickers couldn't see if the sandwiches were tuna or egg salad.

Examples of Dangling modifier:

Original:

1. Hurrying to work, my mom called me on the phone.

2. Trying to muster my courage, the boss told me not to quit.

To correct such modifiers, rewrite them, and include the subject that is missing. Notice below how the preceding examples are recast so that they no longer contain dangling modifiers.

Revised:

1. As I was hurrying to work, my mom called me on the phone.

2. While I was trying to muster my courage, the boss told me not to quit.

Dialogue with a client on a product problem(s) [complaint]

Audio Link: 

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Me :  Good afternoon, May¹ i help you sir?

Customer : Good afternoon,  I purchased a computer from your company since last month. Unfortunately, I'm not satisfied with my new computer. I want complaints about your product. I'm having a lot of problems.

Me : Do you have your store receipt product?

Costumer : Yes, I have.

Me : I’m sorry you’ve had that experience, let me see what I can¹ do to help you.

Customer : I'm having problems with my Internet connection, as well as repeated crashes when I try to run my word-processing software

Me : Did you read the instructions that came with the computer?

Customer : We’ll, yes. But the troubleshooting section was no help

Me : What happened exactly?

Customer : Well, the Internet connection doesn't work. I think the modem is broken. I'd like a replacement.

Me : How were you using the computer when you tried to connect to the Internet?

Customer : I was trying to connect to the Internet!

Me : I'm just trying to understand the problem. I'm afraid it's not our policy to replace computers because of glitches.

Customer : I bought here this computer with the software pre-loaded. I haven't touched anything.

Me : We’re sorry that you’ve had a problem with this computer. I hear your complaints, let me have a look and check the settings.

Customer : Ok, that will⁴ work for me.

Me : There could⁴ be something wrong with the software. We'll do our best to get your computer working as soon as possible.  I will⁴ discuss with my co-workers the other. Can¹ you wait?

Customer : Ok, I’ll be waiting but do it quickly I must be working³ in the office.

Dialogue with a co-worker on the solution for the said complaint

Co-worker : Hi, why you look so sad?

Me : Yeah, I have a little problem.

Co-worker : What’s the problem?

Me: Costumer complaints.

Co-worker : Many customer complaints?

Me : No, only one person.

Co-worker : Then why did he said⁵ to complaints?

Me : Because the Internet connection doesn't work and repeated crashes when he try to run  word-processing software.

Co-worker : Perhaps there’s something wrong with the software. Have you checked it?

Me : Everything looks ok on the outside but something wrong with the software.

Co-worker : Do we have to² do further inspection? All right, but tell⁵ the customer that if there is damage that occurs outside the agreement. And don't forget to ask for customer contact.

Me : Ok. I can¹ tell⁵ the costumer about that, thank you for your advice!

1.      Simple Modal

2.      Complex Modal

3.      Ephistemic Modal

4.      Periphrastic Modal

5.      Say/Tell

Audio Link: 

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