In the sentence “A dog was running. It slipped and fell,” what kind of inference does the word "it" illustrate?

The word "it" in the sentence “A dog was running. It slipped and fell” illustrates anaphoric inference. Anaphoric inference occurs when a pronoun or another form of referring expression points back to a previously mentioned noun. In this case, "it" clearly refers back to "a dog," establishing a connection that helps the reader or listener understand who or what is being talked about in the second sentence. The use of "it" allows for cohesion in the text, as the reader can easily identify that the same subject (the dog) is the one that slipped and fell. This demonstrates how language relies on such referential cues for clarity and continuity in communication.

Other types of inference, such as lexical, contextual, or temporal inferences, do not pertain to this situation. Lexical inference would relate to understanding word meanings and their relationships, contextual inference involves deriving meaning based on the overall context rather than direct references, and temporal inference pertains to the timing or sequence of events. In this instance, the clear pronoun reference makes anaphoric inference the correct characterization of the relationship.