science_guru  +  116401 Fri, 08 Jul 05 04:35 AM 1) John is going to Jame's house for a party. He is very excited about the event. 2) A dog is eating meat. It is very dirty. What nouns are referred by pronouns "He" and "It" in 1) and 2)?  What are the rules? I was thinking,   He--- John                                    It -- dog SG   science_guru Joined on Mon, Jun 27 2005 New Member 51 Nouns, Pronouns

	Clive  +  116415 Fri, 08 Jul 05 05:29 AM Hi, Generally speaking, the pronoun should relate to the closest previous noun of that type. That would mean 1. James 2. the meat In practice, it can be unclear. Sometimes in speech we need to ask a question to clarify it. 'Who is excited, John or James?'  Sometimes the context helps clarify it. 'The robber killed the man, so he will go to jail.' If we want to be very clear, we can reword our sentences.  1) John is going to James's house for a party. John is very excited about the event. 2) A dog is eating meat, which is very dirty. Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,585 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo Nouns, Pronouns