Ch 9

Grammar in Context

Reading grammar · ambiguity resolution · complex clause analysis

Rewrite each sentence as instructed. Check your answer with the model.
Exercises
1
Improve cohesion using anaphoric reference: "The minister resigned. The minister's decision surprised everyone."
Anaphora points back to something already mentioned — a pronoun avoids clumsy repetition.
2
Identify the reference type: "Although he was nervous, David gave a brilliant speech." Is "he" anaphora or cataphora, and why?
Cataphora is forward reference: the pronoun comes before the noun phrase it refers to.
3
Rewrite using nominal substitution: "I want the red car, not the blue car."
"one" substitutes for a countable noun already mentioned, avoiding repetition.
4
Rewrite using verbal ellipsis: "She has finished her homework, but I haven't finished my homework."
The repeated verb phrase "finished my homework" can be omitted — the auxiliary alone is enough after "but".
5
Add a conjunctive adverb to show addition: "The project was over budget. It was delivered late."
Conjunctive adverbs (furthermore, moreover, what's more) signal how one sentence relates to the last.
6
Rewrite three short sentences as one cohesive text using reference and conjunction: "The house was damp. The house needed renovation. The house was demolished."
Pronoun reference plus a connector turns a flat list of repetitive sentences into cohesive discourse.