grammar question.

[kiwik]

Anna strokes the cat. She loves it.

 

The book pairs Anna with she and the cat with it. So Anna loves the cat. My son says how do we know it doesn't mean the cat loves being stroked?

 

I might know but I had the same thought myself. Can anyone give a conclusive explanation?

[Ellie]

The sentence uses "it" to refer to the cat, instead of giving it a gender like he or she. Therefore, the "she" in the second sentence would refer to the person mentioned in the first sentence and not to the cat.

[kiwik]

thanks that was kind of what I was thinking but I didn't get much grammar at school.

[Mom2TheTeam]

Hmm....I guess I don't understand English. ;) I would have thought "it" was referring to the stroking. To me, I could read that sentence as the cat loving being stroked or as Anna loving stroking the cat (which was what I thought when I read it), but it wouldn't even have occurred to me to think the second sentence meant Anna loved the cat.....I think it isn't a very well written sentence. If my son wrote that, I would have him clarify somehow. But, what do I know. We are only on like lesson 10 of FLL 1 and it's been quite a while since I took grammar....:lol:

[Ellie]

Hmm....I guess I don't understand English. ;) I would have thought "it" was referring to the stroking. To me, I could read that sentence as the cat loving being stroked or as Anna loving stroking the cat (which was what I thought when I read it), but it wouldn't even have occurred to me to think the second sentence meant Anna loved the cat.....I think it isn't a very well written sentence. If my son wrote that, I would have him clarify somehow. But, what do I know. We are only on like lesson 10 of FLL 1 and it's been quite a while since I took grammar.... :lol:

 

 

This isn't only a "grammar" issue; it's a *writing* issue. As you say, those two sentences should be rewritten. But now you know that animals are often referred to by "it" and not by gender, unless the gender is part of the story, KWIM?

[Mom2TheTeam]

So, at least I knew enough to know they should be rewritten. :) Yeah, I do know animals can be referred to as it and I do that often. It's probably that I have 3 cats....and they are all "she's." So, I tend to always refer to cats as "she." You know how that goes....

[Kathryn]

I think it is rather ambiguous. I would be choosing between the second sentence meaning "Anna loves the cat" and "Anna loves stroking the cat." It's not very clear.