[Anonymous]

I’m always trying to improve on my spelling/grammar. While texting a friend and having a philosophical talk about corporate America and the double-edged sword of capitalism, I wrote this text and had a question:

“Donald Trump once told a homeless man that he was poor.”

Does the “he” refer to the homeless man or does it refer to Donald?

If he does refer to Donald, then this sentence, although sounds weird, should be correct?

“Donald Trump once told a homeless man that he was more poor than the homeless guy because of all the debt he has.”

[See Pee A]

The first sentence is ambiguous. An English teacher would say it's “improper” since it does not specify the antecedent for “he” (which person “he” refers to). The second sentence is correct since you can follow which “he” refers to which subject.

BEC 86 (08/30/11)
FAR 84 (10/13/11)
REG 88 (11/08/11)
AUD 86 (11/29/11)

Exam prep - Becker self-study

[Author]

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