Reading Comprehension
IDENTIFYING REFERENTS
Sri Agustina, M.S
Universitas Syiah Kuala
OVERVIEW
In the reading section, there are questions that ask
you to identify pronoun referents.
The typical questions are =
• The pronoun “it” in line 3 refers to ....
• What does the pronoun “they” in line 20 refer to?
U n i v e r s i t a s S y i a h K u a l a
Strategies for Referents
1. Find the location (line 3, or 10, etc) in the passage.
2. Usually the pronoun will refer to the specific noun
in the sentence before the location.
3. See if the nouns are singular or plural (things or
persons).
4. The pronoun in the question will have to match
the noun, so the pronoun “it” has the singular
noun, and the pronoun “they” has the plural noun.
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Example 1
The question:
1. The pronoun They in line 5 refers to
(A) Humid areas
(B) These plants
(C) insects
(D) digestive fluids
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Example 2
In 1974, a tornado knocked the 40-foot-tall obelisk to
the ground, where it shattered to pieces, along with the
angel at its top. Moretti’s sculpture was damaged, but it
was repaired. The city did not have the money,
however, to build a new column. A few years later, an
interstate was built beside the monument, blocking it
from view.
The QUESTION:
The pronoun “it” in line 2 refer to
A. a tornado
B. obelisk
C. the ground
U nD.
i vthe
e r sangel
i t a s S y i a h K u a l a
