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In linguistics, a pro-form is a type of function word or expression (linguistics) that stands in for (expresses the same content as) another word, phrase, clause or sentence where the meaning is recoverable from the context. [1] They are used either to avoid repetitive expressions or in quantification (limiting the variables of a proposition).
The general substitution test replaces the test string with some other word or phrase. [20] It is similar to proform substitution, the only difference being that the replacement word or phrase is not a proform, e.g. Drunks could put off the customers. (a) Beggars could put off the customers. (Beggars ↔ Drunks) (b) Drunks could put off our guests.
In the first meaning, his is coreferential; in the second, it is a bound variable because its reference varies over the set of all students. Coindex notation is commonly used for both cases. That is, when two or more expressions are coindexed, it does not signal whether one is dealing with coreference or a bound variable (or as in the last ...
For example, if learners do not know the word grandfather they may paraphrase it by saying "my father's father". Semantic avoidance Learners may avoid a problematic word by using a different one, for example substituting the irregular verb make with the regular verb ask. The regularity of "ask" makes it easier to use correctly. [2] Word coinage
In grammar, an antecedent is one or more words that establish the meaning of a pronoun or other pro-form. [1] For example, in the sentence "John arrived late because traffic held him up," the word "John" is the antecedent of the pronoun "him." Pro-forms usually follow their antecedents, but sometimes precede them.
A substitution table is used while teaching structures of English. [1] [2] Substitution tables were invented by Harold E. Palmer, [3] who defines substitution as "the process by which any authentic sentence may be multiplied indefinitely by substituting for any of its words or word-groups others of the same grammatical family and within certain semantic limits".
Synonyms often express a nuance of meaning or are used in different registers of speech or writing. Various technical domains may employ synonyms to convey precise technical nuances. Some writers avoid repeating the same word in close proximity, and prefer to use synonyms: this is called elegant variation. Many modern style guides criticize this.
Metonymy and related figures of speech are common in everyday speech and writing. Synecdoche and metalepsis are considered specific types of metonymy. Polysemy, the capacity for a word or phrase to have multiple meanings, sometimes results from relations of metonymy. Both metonymy and metaphor involve the substitution of one term for another. [6]