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Difficulty: EasyCohesión pronominal y referencia anafórica

Review the following sentence from a Spanish essay draft:

"Marta visitó a su abuela en el hospital porque ella estaba muy enferma."

The pronoun "ella" creates an ambiguous anaphoric reference because it could grammatically refer to either Marta or her grandmother. Which of the following revisions correctly uses a relative pronoun to eliminate this ambiguity and clearly state that the grandmother was the one who was sick?

  1. A
    Marta visitó a su abuela en el hospital porque ella estaba muy enferma.
  2. Marta visitó a su abuela, quien estaba muy enferma, en el hospital.Answer
  3. C
    Marta visitó a su abuela en el hospital porque él estaba muy enfermo.
  4. D
    Marta visitó a su abuela en el hospital porque estabas muy enferma.

Answer

Marta visitó a su abuela, quien estaba muy enferma, en el hospital.
The correct revision uses the relative pronoun 'quien' (who) directly following the noun 'abuela' (grandmother). In Spanish grammar, placing a relative pronoun immediately after a noun creates a strong, unambiguous anaphoric reference, making it perfectly clear that the grandmother is the subject of the dependent clause ('estaba muy enferma').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the source of the ambiguity in the original sentence.
The pronoun 'ella' could refer to two different feminine singular nouns: 'Marta' or 'abuela'.
Anaphoric references must point to a single, clear antecedent to maintain rhetorical cohesion.
2
Determine the required grammatical goal.
The revised sentence needs to directly link the state of being sick ('estaba muy enferma') specifically to the grandmother ('abuela').
The question specifically asks to clarify that the grandmother was the one who was sick.
3
Evaluate the grammatical tools available to create a clear reference.
Using a relative clause with 'quien' placed directly after 'abuela' explicitly and unambiguously links the two.
Relative pronouns create strong anaphoric links directly to the immediately preceding noun.

Key Concept

Anaphoric reference and pronominal cohesion require pronouns to have a single, unambiguous antecedent. Relative pronouns like 'quien' can be used to directly link a dependent clause to a specific noun, eliminating ambiguity.

Hints

1
Identify the two people mentioned in the original sentence that 'ella' could grammatically replace.
2
Consider which type of pronoun allows you to directly attach a descriptive dependent clause to a specific noun without starting a new independent clause.
3
Look for the option that places a relative pronoun (like 'quien') immediately next to the word 'abuela'.

Practice More

Practice identifying ambiguous pronouns in paragraphs that contain multiple subjects of the same gender.

Alternative Method

Another way to fix this ambiguity without using a relative pronoun would be lexical repetition: 'Marta visitó a su abuela en el hospital porque la abuela estaba muy enferma.'
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Cohesión pronominal y referencia anafórica

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