Reference is the link between a pronoun or pointing word (dia, -nya, mereka, itu, ini) and the person or thing it stands for. If that link is unclear, the sentence is grammatical but the meaning is not.
This lesson sits in the grammar, morphology and sentence accuracy module and follows choosing affixes by meaning and role. It matters most in narrative writing and in emails, where two or more people appear together.
Where does reference go wrong?
Three situations cause most of the trouble.
- Two possible people. The pronoun could point to either of them.
- -nya after two nouns. The owner could be the subject or the object.
- Itu or ini pointing at a whole idea. The reader cannot tell which part of the previous sentence you mean.
How do I repair it step by step?
- Find the pronoun. Underline dia, -nya, mereka, itu and ini.
- List the candidates. Write down every person or thing it could refer to.
- Decide the intended one. If there is more than one, the sentence needs repair.
- Replace with a name, a role or a noun phrase, or rebuild the sentence so only one candidate is possible.
Worked example
(Invented passage for practice. Siti and Aminah are made-up people.)
Siti berjumpa Aminah di perpustakaan. Dia memberi buku itu kepadanya.
Step 1. The pronouns are dia and -nya.
Step 2. Dia could be Siti or Aminah. The ending -nya could be Aminah or Siti.
Step 3. Suppose Siti is the giver and Aminah is the receiver. Both pronouns are unclear.
Step 4. Name the people: Siti berjumpa Aminah di perpustakaan. Siti memberikan buku itu kepada Aminah.
A smoother version keeps one name and uses a pronoun only where it is safe: Siti berjumpa Aminah di perpustakaan dan memberikan buku itu kepadanya. Here the verb memberikan clearly belongs to the subject Siti, so kepadanya can only be Aminah.
The mistake to watch for
The common over-correction is to replace every pronoun with a name.
Mistaken repair: Siti berjumpa Aminah. Siti memberi buku kepada Aminah. Aminah berterima kasih kepada Siti. Siti tersenyum.
Every reference is clear, but the paragraph sounds like a list. Keep names where two people could be confused and use dia or -nya where only one person fits, for example Aminah berterima kasih, dan Siti tersenyum.
Another trap is a pointing word with no clear target: Dia lewat, hujan lebat dan bas rosak. Itu menyebabkan dia marah. Name what you mean: Keadaan itu menyebabkan dia marah.
Check yourself
1. Repair: Ali memarahi Amir kerana kasutnya hilang.
Show answer
Kasutnya could be Ali’s or Amir’s. One repair: Ali memarahi Amir kerana kasut Amir hilang. Or, if Ali lost the shoes: Ali memarahi Amir kerana kasut Ali hilang. Pick the version the story needs.
2. Is the reference clear? “Cikgu Hana bercakap dengan Puan Lim. Dia ialah guru kelas kami.”
Show answer
No. Dia could be either teacher. Write Cikgu Hana, guru kelas kami, bercakap dengan Puan Lim.
3. Make the pointing word clear: “Kami menang pertandingan, dan kami dapat hadiah. Ini membuat guru bangga.”
Show answer
Ini could mean the win, the prize or both. Write Kemenangan itu membuat guru bangga.
Where this leads next
Next, study active and passive expression, because a passive sentence can hide the doer and make reference even harder to follow. Then try the module practice set. The writing revision compare view lets you put the first draft and the repaired version side by side.
A teacher in online one-to-one Malay tuition can read your draft cold and tell you which pronouns a stranger would misread.