A pronoun is a stand-in for something already mentioned. To read accurately, you must be able to say what it stands for, and the nearest noun is sometimes the wrong answer.
How do you find what a pronoun points to?
Use the replace-and-check method. Find the pronoun, look backwards for a candidate, then put the candidate in the pronoun’s place and reread the sentence.
If the sentence still makes sense and says what the passage needs it to say, you have the reference. If it becomes strange, try the next candidate back.
Worked example
This short original passage is about a school canteen.
The canteen committee asked the vendors to lower their prices, but they refused because ingredient costs had risen. This led the committee to offer a rent discount, which the vendors accepted.
There are three pronouns to check: their, they and which. The table shows the reasoning.
| Pronoun | Candidates | Answer and check |
|---|---|---|
| their | committee, vendors | vendors: “the vendors’ prices” makes sense |
| they | committee, vendors, prices | vendors: the vendors refused because their costs rose |
| which | committee, rent discount | rent discount: the vendors accepted the discount |
The word this in the second sentence is different. It points to a whole idea, the vendors’ refusal. Replacing it gives: “The refusal led the committee to offer a rent discount.”
What does the common mistake look like?
A student reads “they refused” and picks committee, because it is the subject of the first clause. The nearest noun before they is actually vendors, but many students choose by position in the sentence rather than by meaning.
The fix is the replace test. “The committee refused because ingredient costs had risen” does not fit, since ingredient costs belong to sellers. One reread catches the error.
Steps to follow
- Circle every pronoun in the sentence you are stuck on.
- For each, write the noun or idea it replaces above it in pencil.
- Reread the sentence with your replacements. If it sounds wrong, try another candidate.
Self-check
Read this original passage and say what it and that refer to.
The new bridge cut the journey to the clinic from forty minutes to fifteen. The villagers had asked for it for years, and that changed how often elderly residents could see a doctor.
Answer
It refers to the new bridge: “the villagers had asked for the bridge for years”. The nearest noun is villagers, so choosing by position would give a wrong answer.
That refers to the whole idea in the first sentence, the shorter journey to the clinic, not to a single noun. Replacing it gives “the shorter journey changed how often elderly residents could see a doctor”.
Where to go next
This skill supports the next one, separating a main idea from supporting detail, because you cannot rank ideas you have not connected. If the task in the question is still unclear, go back to finding the task in a question. Students sitting English often practise this with a teacher on real comprehension passages.