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Mehdi kord Posted 5 years ago
Grammar

Antecedent of that

Which word does 'that' refer to [antecedent]?

Shakespeare tells us that Romeo and Juliet were star-crossed lovers; that is,
they were under the influence of an evil star (dis-aster).

This belief is not far removed from that of people who follow the horoscopes and
those who are concerned about the sign of the zodiac they were born under.
  

Top answer

mehdi kord This belief is not far removed from that of people who follow the horoscopes andthose who are concerned about the sign of the zodiac they were born under. I see "that" as a fused head in the NP (a complement in the PP headed by the preposition "from"). There is no antecedent of the " that " here.

  • mehdi kord This belief is not far removed from that of people who follow the horoscopes andthose who are concerned about the sign of the zodiac they were born under.
  • I see "that" as a fused head in the NP (a complement in the PP headed by the preposition "from").
  • There is no antecedent of the " that " here.
  • You may interpret it as: This belief is not far removed from that belief of people who follow the horoscopes and those who are concerned about the sign of the zodiac they were born under .
  • ----------- This belief ?
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2 Answers
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mehdi kordThis belief is not far removed from that of people who follow the horoscopes andthose who are concerned about the sign of the zodiac they were born under.

I see "that" as a fused head in the NP (a complement in the PP headed by the preposition "from"). There is no antecedent of the "that" here. You may interpret it as:

Thi

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mehdi kordWhich word does 'that' refer to ... ?

'that' in 'that of' can usually be paraphrased as 'the {noun}' where {noun} repeats a noun that occurred earlier in the sentence.

This belief is not far removed from [the belief / that] of people who follow the horoscopes.


Testimony from five victims match

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