Reference

“John went to the candy store to shop for chocolate.” “He bought some.”

Reference “John went to the candy store to shop for chocolate.” “He bought some.” John Referring Expression Referent

Reference “John went to the candy store to shop for chocolate.” “He bought some.” corefer

Reference “John went to the candy store to shop for chocolate.” “He bought some.” antecedent

Types of Referring Expressions Indefinite Noun Phrases Definite Noun Phrases Pronouns Demonstratives One Anaphora Inferrables Discontinuous sets Generics

Indefinite Noun Phrases Introduce entities new to the hearer –“I bought a double espresso.” –“Some double espressos are stronger than others.” May be marked by “a”, “some” and “this”

Definite Noun Phrases Refer to an entity already mentioned “The double espresso was wonderful.” Or already identifiable “The Starbucks main office is on my mind.”

Pronouns He, She, It, Them.. Typically appear closer to their referent than other referring expressions –Within a sentence or two

Demonstratives E.g. this & that Appear alone or as determiners This indicates closeness, that distance “That coffee is too weak. This is stronger. “

One Anaphora “I looked at Jim’s steaming mug of coffee. I wanted one too.” May introduce new element, but depends on an existing referent for its definition

Inferrables Refers to entity only introduced implicitly “My cup of coffee was delicious. The beans must have been high quality.” Also can specify results of processes “First grind the beans, then tamp down the grinds.”

Discontinuous Sets References to sets of entites that are evoked together “Ed and Angie love their coffee. They’re addicted.”

Generics Refer to a general class of objects “I drink 5 cups of coffee every hour. It is a wonderful drink.”