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Glite Dictionary
coreferential

coreferential

9.5
More than one word or phrase in a text that refer to the same thing
  • adjective
  • /ˌkɔːrɪˈfɛrənʃəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : co-referencial
  • In the sentence 'Lisa said she would come', both 'Lisa' and 'she' are coreferential expressions.

Examples

  • When analyzing text, it is important to identify coreferential pronouns that refer back to nouns mentioned earlier.

  • The distribution of indicative/subjunctive usage with coreferential and non-coreferential subjects is given in Table 2.

    Academic text (1995)

  • The only four cases of subjunctive usage in which the subjects of the two clauses are coreferential are the following:

    Academic text (1995)

  • Understanding how coreferential terms work helps clarify meaning in complex sentences.

Synonyms

coreferent
vscoreferential
  • Specialized
9.9

Describing words that refer to the same person or thing

describes a relation between expressions rather than direct reference
co-referent
vscoreferential
  • Specialized
9.9

Referring to the same person or thing in a text

focus on direct reference rather than showing relation between expressions

Surface Forms

coreferential positive

Morphology

coreferential = coreferent (semi-transparent) = co + refer + ent + ial

Formally derived from 'coreferent' + '-ial'; the relation is clear structurally but 'coreferent' itself is technical and not fully obvious to general learners.

Etymology

Coreferential comes from the parts co- 'together' and refer 'to point to', the same root as the common word reference. So, coreferential describes two words or phrases that 'point to' the same person or thing in a sentence.