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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Referred noun in second part of clause
"He was never referred to as still existing by my father, a youngest brother who had all the characteristics that eldest are supposed to possess; and I have not the least idea whether he is still alive, or even whether I have unknown cousins on the other side of the Atlantic."
Is there a rule to know whether in this case "a youngest brother" refers to the father or "he"?
Is there a rule to know whether in this case "a youngest brother" refers to the father or "he"?
Top answer
" The sentence says that the speaker knows nothing about "he," so the speaker would not then know that "he" was "a youngest brother who had all the characteristics that eldest are supposed to possess".
- " The sentence says that the speaker knows nothing about "he," so the speaker would not then know that "he" was "a youngest brother who had all the characteristics that eldest are supposed to possess".
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1 Answers
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The context (there is no rule about things like this) suggests that "a youngest brother" would have to refer to "my father." The sentence doesn't seem to make sense if it refers to "he." The sentence says that the speaker knows nothing about "he," so the speaker would not then know that "he" was "a youngest brother who had all the characteristics that eldest are supposed to possess".
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