In the sentence ‘Dr Tivenga gave Prof. Strauss her book’, the pronoun ‘her’ _____.

Question

is bound to cause confusion


refers back to Prof. Strauss’s book


refers back to Dr Tivenga’s book


refers to Prof. Strauss and Dr. Tivenga

Answer 1

In the sentence “Dr. Tivenga gave Prof. Strauss her book,” the pronoun ‘her’ refers back to Dr. Tivenga’s book.

This interpretation makes the most sense contextually, as it is common for an author to refer to their own work with a pronoun like 'her' in such constructions.