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What "who" refer to?



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
over the years vs for the years | singular or plural, [noun] as S +V
listening exercisestell a friend
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What "who" refer to? #1 (permalink) Sat Nov 29, 2008 18:59 pm   What "who" refer to?
 

Dear experts,

May I have your opinions, please?

"John explained the theory to his taciturn friend at Steven's Cafe who was listening to him with bemused interest."

1. Is the above construction correct?, and
2. What does "who" qualify: "taciturn friend" or "Steven's Cafe"?
Brahman
I'm new here and I like it ;-)


Joined: 09 Mar 2008
Posts: 18

What "who" refer to? #2 (permalink) Sun Nov 30, 2008 4:11 am   What "who" refer to?
 

Is it really even slightly reasonable to think of a restaurant as listening at all, either with or without interest? Clearly, it's the friend who is listening. You can argue that the "who..." phrase is misplaced, but there's no possibility of confusion.
Barb_D
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 13 Jun 2008
Posts: 474

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