Running title: Reference and Possession

Reference and Possession

Mengzi Cai

Colorado State University

Class: E515
Name: Mengzi Cai
Grammar Book Synopsis
Chapter 16: Reference and Possession

Introduction

I think reference and possession are basic usages in reading, writing, listening, and

speaking of English. This knowledge is indispensable in grammar learning, therefore, it is

necessary for EFL/ESL teacher to gain the knowledge of reference and possession. This paper

includes the important information of reference and possession. It talks about the form,

meanings, and uses of reference and possession in English in relevance to teaching English to

language learners.

Reference

Personal reference

Personal pronouns can be divided into subject and object. We must also consider with the

person and singular & plural of subject and object.

Subject form of the personal pronouns

singular plural

1st person I we

2nd person you you

3rd person she/he/it they

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Reference and Possession

Object form of personal pronouns

singular plural

1st person me us

2nd person you you

3rd person him/her/it them

The subject pronouns are used for the subject NPs and the object pronoun forms have three

functions: indirect, direct, and prepositional objects. First person pronoun we can refer to

inclusive and exclusive meaning. The inclusive meaning includes the addressees while exclusive

meaning does not. The phrase let’s which is let us presents the inclusive meaning. People usually

use inclusive we to indicate the whole audience in the lecture and writers use inclusive we to

make readers agree with writers. Besides, we and you could also refer to singular or plural

addressees. Another way to signal explicit plural reference is to use the phrases you all or you

guys. You could be used to mean the people in general. Third person pronouns contain he

(masculine), she (feminine), and it (neuter). However, if we mark the gender to the animals or

anything else, he and she could be used to represent the animals or things. He can be related to

the both meaning of masculine and feminine or lacking gender specificity. In an elliptical

utterance, the object pronoun could substitute the subject form.

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 Possessive* includes two functions: determiners and pronouns. The difference is that the
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possessive words to be a modifier which precede noun or are regarded as pronouns. (e.g. This is

my book, or This book is mine.).

Determiner function

singular plural

1st person my our

2nd person your your

3rd person her/his/its their

Pronominal function

singular plural

1st person mine ours

2nd person yours yours

3rd person Hers/his/its theirs

Possessive determiners are core determiners which occur in front of the predeterminer and

followed by a postdeterminer. Possessive pronouns can be used as subjects or objects and can

replace possessive NP in sentence. What’s more, its is a possessive determiner and it’s is

contraction of it is.

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Genitive is a better terminology than possessive in here because possessive always refers to ownership of a noun
while genitive case is not strictly used for ownership.

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Reference and Possession

One category of the reflexive pronoun is that possessive determiner combines with

self/selves. Another category is object pronoun combines with self/selves. ESL students may

make mistake in the wrong form theirselves.

Reflexive pronouns

singular plural

1st person myself ourselves

2nd person yourself yourselves

3rd person herself/himself/itself themselves

Reflexive pronouns functioning as objects have the same referent as the subject of the sentence;

Similar to reflexive pronouns, reciprocal pronouns function as NP objects with the same

reference as NP subjects in the same sentence. Each other and one another are reciprocal

pronouns and the subject must be plural when one of these two phrasal forms is used in the

sentence. Reflexive pronoun may occur as object in sentences that are not semantically reflexive

(e.g. What about yourself?). Each other can have inanimate antecedents (e.g. The two shops are

next to each other) while one another refers to human (e.g. The children are chasing one

another).

Demonstrative reference

There are two dimensions to understand about demonstrative determiners and pronouns,

which are proximity and number.

Demonstrative reference

singular plural

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 near this these

far that those

Demonstratives can be used as pronouns (e.g. I will take this out.) and determiners (e.g. I like this

picture.). Demonstrative determiners are core determiners. In wh-questions, which is most

related to demonstratives while it can function as determiner or pronominal. The singular

demonstratives (this, that) can also function as adverbs, modifier for adjectives or another

adverb; Proximity means spatial temporal, psychological or sequential nearness or distance.

Also, there is a more dynamic and complex explanation of the use of demonstratives： the forms

this/these, that/those, it/they/them decrease progressively through focus, new information and

importance.

Comparative reference

Comparative reference which is indirect reference is used for identity or similarity，

difference and comparative. One category of the comparative reference is identity which means

that the referent in sentences is identical or similar with its antecedent. We can modify the word

same to intensify the identity, like the same way. Phrase the same can function as a pronoun. We

can use the same to represent the identical thing as the antecedent. For instance, -I will have

Coke and fried chickens. -I will have the same.

We can use so, likewise and such to express general similarity, which means the items

might not be the same but similar. Such can be used precede noncount nouns and count nouns. If

such is used to modify a singular noun, it should be followed by a/an. So is quite similar with this

when it used as an adverbial. Likewise is used with do more times (do likewise) to explain the

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Reference and Possession

general similarity as the previous action and likewise can be replayed by so. For example, Mary

helped elders to clean their houses. I hope you would do likewise. So as a pronoun form could

represent an affirmative clause and not could be negative clause (e.g. Do you want to buy this

jacket? If so, I will take it. If not, I will put it back.).

The words other, (the) others, another, and else represent difference, which means that

what it is talking about is different from the antecedent.

Particular comparatives, like more, better, and worse can be used as pronouns or adverbs

connected to the prior discourse (e.g. I finally finished my homework but my teacher assigned me

more).

Indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are compound forms: the words some, any, no, and every combine -

body, -one, and -thing. The indefinite pronouns are single words except for the phrase no one. -

thing refers an inanimate and/or abstract concept while the compound forms with -one and -body

generally refer to persons. -thing can be used to modify an unidentifiable person. If -one is used

to mean the cardinal number, the indefinite pronouns and compounds nouns are not equivalent

(e.g. anyone&any one of us).

Possession

The possession system contains possessive personal reference (determiner and pronoun),

inflection (e.g. ’s/s’), and periphrasis (a of the b).

The forms of possessive inflection are different based on the singular and plural nouns:

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 • Singular nouns and irregular plural nouns which are not ending in s Inflecting with

's (e.g. the father’s book/the men’s book)

• Regular plural nouns: An apostrophe is added after s (e.g. the girls’ talk)

• Singular nouns which are end in s : add ’s or s (e.g. the ethics)

When ’s is added after voiceless nonsibilants, it is pronounced as /s/ (e.g. Mike’s). When it

follows voiced nonsibilant consonants and vowels, it is pronounced as /z/ (e.g. boy’s). /əz/ after

sibilant consonants (e.g. Grace’s). Another way to mark possession is to use of : the school’s

name vs the name of school. It is possible to have double possessive inflections or double or

triple periphrastic possessives in sentences (e.g. Mark of grammar of this book). The noun

inflected with the possessive ’s is regarded as a determiner (e.g. the girl’s name) and we use the

periphrastic possessive with of follow the head noun (e.g. the name of the girl). Possessive

inflection can be added to complex or compound noun phrases or simple nouns. With the usage

of possessive form ’s, the inflected noun could be omitted when it could be known from context.

(e.g. Whose skirt? Mary’s.).’s possessive and of possessive can occur in the same construction

which is called the double genitive (e.g. a neighbor of Mandy’s). Similarly, of possessive could

together with the possessive pronouns.

Inflection ’s is called genitive case. There are two main types of reference which is identified

for genitive: specifying and classifying. Specifying genitive refer to whose or which of X，

which can be used to describe specific items, while classifying generative is related to what type

of X, which means the general type of X.

’s construction tends to modify nouns referring to human entities but of construction is

for concrete things. The length of the modifying noun phrase can be one factor in choosing of

construction or ’s construction. Writers choose the ’s construction when they want to modify

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Reference and Possession

one-word noun. When they need to modify a noun phrase of three words, they favor of

construction. ’s construction cannot be used in some cases, such as in the expression of type,

quantity and depiction（e.g.* two water’s cups）, but it is used in certain idioms (e.g. death’s

door). Classifying genitives and genitives of measurement do not use of construction.

Conclusion

In general, there are three categories of reference which are personal, demonstrative, and

comparative. Possession contains four points: possessive determiner, possessive pronouns,

inflectionally, and periphrastically. An ESL teacher would have to focus on this knowledge

because it is fundamental to the grammar of English.

Word Count: 1492