What each HER stands for?

Question

What each HER stands for?Sally’s diary provided her mother with a detailed chronicle of her daughter’s extracurricular activities.In the sentence above I'd like to ask what each HER refers to.First HER seems to mean Sally.I'm quite sure about it.(Am I right?)Last HER seems to mean (HER) MOTHER.(Am I right?)The latter one is much more tricky than the first.Regards.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Stenka25First HER seems to mean Sally.I'm quite sure about it.

You are right. There is only one noun (a named female) that comes earlier

Stenka25Last HER seems to mean (HER) MOTHER.(Am I right?)

.You are right. There are two tests for an antecedent.
1. It is the closest noun that precedes the pronoun and matches it in gender and number.
2. It makes sense in the context.

Sally’s diary provided her mother with a detailed chronicle of her daughter’s extracurricular activities.
1. The noun that is closest earlier in the sentence is "mother".
2. It matches in gender (female) and number (singular)
3. It fits the context. "Her (the mother's daughter)" is Sally. And it's Sally's activities that are chronicled in the diary.

As an exercise, compare with this:
Sally’s diary provided her mother with a detailed chronicle of her ~~daughter’s~~ extracurricular activities.
Now, what is the antecedent of the second "her?"

Stenka25 · Answer

To AlpheccaStars

You must to be a teacher not on this website but on your off-line, real life. And your students would be happy to have you as their teacher.
(But that doesn't matter.)
Thanks a lot as always for your reply and thanks a trillion for your exercise.

Here's my answer.
HER refers to Sally. My answer doesn't fit you frist principle of agreement, the closest noun that precedes the pronoun and matches it in gender and number. But Because of that ground if I change the answer with Sally's mother, the altered answer goes against the second principle, to make sense in the context.

Sally's mother should be too old to do extracurricular activities, but, even if she did, Sally has no reason to record the activities of her mother in her diary.
So the final and definite answer of your exercise is SALLY.

Thanks a lot.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Stenka25Sally has no reason to record the activities of her mother in her diary.

Excellent. "Fitting the context" is like working out a puzzle.
If there is no clear antecedent, then the sentence is poorly written.
Is this sentence well written?

Amy told her sister that her new friend was really nice.

Stenka25 · Answer

Amy told her sister that her new friend was really nice.

I cannot say this sentence is well written.
No one can decide who this HER of 'her new friend' is, because HER can be both Amy and Amy's sister and both makes sense.

Thanks a lot for your another exercise concerning 'a clear antecedent', AlpheccaStars

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