LessonsDeparture from Expected Expression: Overt Nouns, Pronouns and Rhetorical PurposeQuiz

The first principal departure is placing a pronoun where an explicit noun would be expected. The second is placing an explicit expression where a pronoun would be expected. Both depend on understanding what the discourse previously made available.

ConstructionExpected formChosen form
Pronoun for overt nounA name or overt expressionA personal or 'affair' pronoun
Overt expression for pronounA pronoun referring backA name, description or demonstrative

The point is not ornament alone but a particular focus in the listener's mind. A form can yield different benefits in different contexts, so its rhetorical effect cannot be determined from word shape alone.

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Two central kinds of substitution

Departure from Expected Expression: Overt Nouns, Pronouns and Rhetorical Purpose

The first principal departure is placing a pronoun where an explicit noun would be expected. The second is placing an explicit expression where a pronoun would be expected. Both depend on understanding what the discourse previously made available.

ConstructionExpected formChosen form
Pronoun for overt nounA name or overt expressionA personal or 'affair' pronoun
Overt expression for pronounA pronoun referring backA name, description or demonstrative

The point is not ornament alone but a particular focus in the listener's mind. A form can yield different benefits in different contexts, so its rhetorical effect cannot be determined from word shape alone.