What does "an attitude" refer in this sentence?
He hates foreigners, an attitude that most of his friends find embarrassing.
I think that contextually, "an attitude" is referring to "hates foreigners", not "He hates foreigners", because "an attitude" just expresses the behavior of a person.
What do you think of my analysis?
Top answer
Strictly speaking, "an attitude" has to refer to a noun or noun phrase. Neither "hates foreigners" nor "he hates foreigners" is such, so strictly speaking we have to construct an implied noun phrase such as "the fact that he hates foreigners". However, in normal situations, we of course interpret the meaning without the need to go through a conscious process of doing this.
- Strictly speaking, "an attitude" has to refer to a noun or noun phrase.
- Neither "hates foreigners" nor "he hates foreigners" is such, so strictly speaking we have to construct an implied noun phrase such as "the fact that he hates foreigners".
- However, in normal situations, we of course interpret the meaning without the need to go through a conscious process of doing this.
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Strictly speaking, "an attitude" has to refer to a noun or noun phrase. Neither "hates foreigners" nor "he hates foreigners" is such, so strictly speaking we have to construct an implied noun phrase such as "the fact that he hates foreigners". However, in normal situations, we of course interpret the meaning without the need to go through a conscious process of doing this.
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