0
Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Relative Pronouns
Hi,
I have a question regarding this type of structure:
"I have spoken to a colleague of my friend, who has told me that they will not be at work tomorrow"
I'd like to know if the relative pronoun 'who' is referring to 'a colleague', or 'my friend'.
Is the prepositional phrase 'my friend' a compliment of 'a colleague'?
If so does that mean that 'a colleague of my friend' is one syntactic unit?
Thanks
I have a question regarding this type of structure:
"I have spoken to a colleague of my friend, who has told me that they will not be at work tomorrow"
I'd like to know if the relative pronoun 'who' is referring to 'a colleague', or 'my friend'.
Is the prepositional phrase 'my friend' a compliment of 'a colleague'?
If so does that mean that 'a colleague of my friend' is one syntactic unit?
Thanks
Top answer
It's impossible to tell if "they" is the colleague or the friend. You need to rely on context - would this colleague be likely to tell you about his or her own situation if you didn't otherwise know him (her)? Most likely, that person is telling you about your friend - but there is nothing grammatically to make that more likely.
- It's impossible to tell if "they" is the colleague or the friend.
- You need to rely on context - would this colleague be likely to tell you about his or her own situation if you didn't otherwise know him (her)?
- Most likely, that person is telling you about your friend - but there is nothing grammatically to make that more likely.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
6 Answers
0
It's impossible to tell if "they" is the colleague or the friend.
You need to rely on context - would this colleague be likely to tell you about his or her own situation if you didn't otherwise know him (her)? Most likely, that person is telling you about your friend - but there is nothing grammatically to make that more likely.
You need to rely on context - would this colleague be likely to tell you about his or her own situation if you didn't otherwise know him (her)? Most likely, that person is telling you about your friend - but there is nothing grammatically to make that more likely.
00
Anonymous"I have spoken to a colleague of my friend, who has told me that they will not be at work tomorrow"When you speak to Person X, then Person X can tell you something. When you speak to a colleague (or father, or cousin, or classmate) of Person X
I'd like to know if the relative pronoun 'who' is referring to 'a colleague', or 'my friend'.
00
0
AnonymousSo its a question of context rather than structure?Yes. In this case. Often the structure can disambiguate the antecedent, but in this case it doesn't. You have to use additional knowledge about the world. The structure alone won't help.
CJ
00
I'm so sorry - I misread the question. I was thinking about the "they" not the "who."
00
Grammar Geek I misread the question.Hee, hee! You should be so lucky to have a nickel for every time I've done the same thing! Not a problem. Look at the bright side: You provided "bonus information"!
0
Related Questions