A pronoun stands in for something already mentioned. A reference question asks you to say exactly what it stands for. The skill is to test each candidate in the sentence, not simply pick the nearest noun.
This lesson closes the group of skills in vocabulary and inference. It builds on telling fact from opinion, because both need careful reading of short statements.
Why do pronouns cause errors?
Pronouns such as it, they, he, she, this, that, which and there save repetition, but they are not labelled. When two or more things could fit, only logic and grammar tell you which is meant.
Number helps first: “it” is singular, “they” is plural. Meaning then does the rest.
How to resolve a pronoun, step by step
- Find the pronoun and note whether it is singular or plural, and person or thing.
- List the possible nouns in the same sentence and the one before.
- Remove those that do not agree in number or type.
- Substitute each candidate into the sentence.
- Choose the one that makes sense in the whole passage, not only in one clause.
Worked example
The notice about the new timetable was pinned beside the office door, but students ignored it for days.
Step 1: “it” is singular and refers to a thing.
Step 2, candidates: the notice, the new timetable, the office door.
Step 3, agreement: all three are singular things, so grammar cannot decide.
Step 4, substitute:
- “students ignored the office door for days” is strange, because nobody needs to read a door.
- “students ignored the new timetable for days” does not fit, since “pinned” and “ignored” both apply to the notice.
- “students ignored the notice for days” is natural.
Step 5, choose: the notice is the main subject of the sentence, the thing that was pinned and then ignored.
Answer: “it” refers to the notice.
The mistake to watch for
Mistaken answer: “It refers to the office door, because that is the closest noun before it.”
The student used position instead of meaning. “Closest noun” is a weak rule: here the door only tells us where the notice was. The correction is to always run the substitution test and ask which noun the sentence is really about.
The same trap appears with people: “Jun Wei passed the parcel to Kavita because she was standing nearer the door.” Both names fit grammatically. But the logic shows “she” is Kavita, since the nearer person would receive it.
Check yourself
1. “The committee asked the students to hand in their forms before it closed the office on Friday.” What does “it” refer to?
Show answer
The committee. It is singular, and the committee is the one that closes the office. “Forms” is plural and “students” is plural, so neither fits.
2. “Farid lost his bike key and his umbrella. They were found in the canteen.” What does “they” refer to?
Show answer
The key and the umbrella. “They” is plural, and it points back to the two lost items, not to Farid alone.
3. “The river flooded the road twice in one week. This forced the council to close the bridge.” What does “this” refer to?
Show answer
The road being flooded twice in one week, the whole event in the first sentence, not one noun. Test: “The road being flooded twice forced the council to close the bridge.”
Where this leads next
With all five lessons done, try the vocabulary and inference practice set to see which skill needs another look. The summary selection and paraphrase studio is a helpful place to practise rewriting a point so that its references are clear.
Pronoun mistakes often come from reading quickly, and a teacher can slow the reading down with you in online one-to-one English as a Second Language tuition.