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English Patrick Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Deciding what 'her' refers to
In the first part of the following sentence, the subject and the object are both female: 'Once she reached the woman’s ear, she slipped underneath her hair.'
In the second part of the sentence, does the 'her' refer to the subject (which is not my intention) or the object (which is my intention)?
Can anyone point me at an article which explains this?
Any help would be very gratefully received.
Kind wishes, Patrick
In the second part of the sentence, does the 'her' refer to the subject (which is not my intention) or the object (which is my intention)?
Can anyone point me at an article which explains this?
Any help would be very gratefully received.
Kind wishes, Patrick
Top answer
"Her" unambiguously means the woman. I don't think the phenomenon can be explained in a general way that would be any better than just using our brains each time. It reads the way it reads.
- "Her" unambiguously means the woman.
- I don't think the phenomenon can be explained in a general way that would be any better than just using our brains each time.
- It reads the way it reads.
- In this case, the factors are obvious—the she of the subject in both clauses acts upon the woman, as one would expect.
- The woman is not the object in either clause, by the way—her ear and her hair are.
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2 Answers
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"Her" unambiguously means the woman. I don't think the phenomenon can be explained in a general way that would be any better than just using our brains each time. It reads the way it reads. In this case, the factors are obvious—the she of the subject in both clauses acts upon the woman, as one would expect. The woman is not the object in either clause, by the way—her ear and her hair are.
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