Identify the method used to correct the ambiguous pronoun reference. If the revised sentence does not improve the

pronoun reference, choose "No improvement was made."

Original sentence: The clock on the shelf that was broken needed to be fixed.

Revised sentence: The broken clock on the shelf needed to be fixed.

Potential answers:

The antecedent was repeated.

The pronoun was placed nearer the antecedent.

The sentence was rewritten,

An intensive pronoun was inserted after the ambiguous pronoun.

No improvement was made.

Question

English

Clark Rocha

31 January, 16:54

Identify the method used to correct the ambiguous pronoun reference. If the revised sentence does not improve the

pronoun reference, choose "No improvement was made."

Original sentence: The clock on the shelf that was broken needed to be fixed.

Revised sentence: The broken clock on the shelf needed to be fixed.

Potential answers:

The antecedent was repeated.

The pronoun was placed nearer the antecedent.

The sentence was rewritten,

An intensive pronoun was inserted after the ambiguous pronoun.

No improvement was made.

+1

Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Jocelyn Mcgrath · Answer 1

The sentence was rewritten.

Indeed, the ambiguous pronoun reference was removed altogether and the adjective "broken" was moved before the noun. This way,

the information that the clock was broken can be conveyed in merely one phrase (the noun phrase which serves as subject of the sentence: "The broken clock") and there is no need for a relative clause; there is no more ambiguity because it makes it clear that it was the clock which was broken, and not the shelf.