WPWord Play
Home›C2›Grammar›Reference and Lexical Cohesion
Ch 9

Reference and Lexical Cohesion

Before he spoke, the minister… · this problem · such an approach · the former / the latter · the dog… the animal

Building on C1

Holding a long text together

At C1 you used substitution (one, do so), ellipsis and linking adverbs. At C2 you control reference over many sentences and build cohesion with vocabulary, not only with grammar words.

Pointing back and forward

Anaphora and cataphora

The minister resigned. She gave no reason.
anaphora: she points back
Before he spoke, the minister looked at his notes.
cataphora: he points forward — creates suspense
This is what I want to say: we need more time.
this pointing forward to a whole idea

Shell nouns

A noun that sums up a previous idea

Prices rose for six months, then fell. This pattern repeated all year.
Some schools ban phones. Such an approach has critics.

Common shell nouns: problem, issue, approach, trend, view, claim, decision, situation, tendency, development.

the former · the latter · respectively

Keeping two or more things apart

We visited Lyon and Nice; the former is inland, the latter on the coast.
Ana and Tom scored 8 and 6 respectively.
Ana 8, Tom 6.
Use the former / the latter only with exactly two items.

Lexical chains · it, this or that?

Vocabulary that refers back

A Labrador ran into the road. The dog was unhurt; the animal was later returned.
specific → general: a chain of nouns
He lied. This upset everyone.
this = the event / idea just mentioned, in focus
He lied, and that was the end of it.
that = more distant or closing the topic

Common mistakes

Where learners go wrong most often

We met Ana, Tom and Leo; the latter was late.
→
We met Ana, Tom and Leo; Leo was late.
the latter → only two items
Prices fell. It surprised analysts, the pattern repeated.
→
Prices fell. This pattern surprised analysts.
use a shell noun for the idea
Ana and Tom were 20 and 22 years old respectfully.
→
… 20 and 22 years old respectively.
respectively, not respectfully
The dog ran off. The dog was found. The dog was fine.
→
The dog ran off. It was found, and the animal was fine.
vary reference across sentences

Your turn

Answer out loud — full sentences

Work on reference.

1
Describe two cities using the former and the latter.
2
Summarise a news story, then refer to it with a shell noun (this decision, this trend…).
3
Start a story with cataphora: Before she…, the …
4
Build a lexical chain about an animal or an object: specific → general.

Recap

pointing back
anaphora: he / she / this
The minister resigned. She …
pointing forward
cataphora
Before he spoke, the minister …
summing up
this / such + shell noun
This pattern …
two items
the former / the latter
the former is inland
in order
respectively
8 and 6 respectively
vocabulary
lexical chain
a Labrador … the dog … the animal