Nuts and Bolts: anaphora.

It's always flattering to be told that we've been doing really complicated grammar all our lives, so here I present the word anaphora.

Anaphora is when you refer to something that's been mentioned previously, but by using a different word.

You might say Clare bakes bread, and she does it every morning. It's a simple enough sentence, but the words she, does, and it are all examples of anaphora.

There. Aren't we clever.

Anaphora has another meaning, too. If someone says something like:

You may think that the defendant is unreliable; you may think that he is dishonest; you may think he is for those reasons guilty; but that last is not an inference that can be drawn.

The repetition of you may think at the beginning of the clauses is also called anaphora.

That sort of thing is mostly only for show-offs, though.

Thing To Use Today: anaphora. This word comes from the Greek word for repetition. ana- can mean, more or less anything, and pherein means to bear.