READING SKILL 5: FIND PRONOUN REFERENTS

READING

SKILL 5: FIND PRONOUN REFERENTS

In a pronoun reference question, it is important to understand that a noun is generally used first in a passage, and the pronoun that refers to it comes after. Whenever you are asked which noun a pronoun refers to, you should look before the pronoun to find the noun.

Example from the Paper TOEFL Test The passage: Carnivorous plants, such as the sundew and the Venus flytrap, are generally found in humid areas where there is a n inadequate nitrogen in the soil. In order to survive, these plants have developed mechanisms to trap insects within their foliage. They have digestive fluids to obtain the necessary nitrogen from the insects. These plants trap the insects in a variety of ways. The sundew has sticky hairs on its leaves; when an insect lands on these leaves, it gets caught up in the sticky hairs, and the leaf wraps itself around the insect. The leaves of the Venus-flytrap function more like a trap, snapping suddenly and forcefully shut around an insect.

The question: The pronoun They in line 5 refers to A.           humid areas B.           these plants C.           insects D.                digestive fluids

This question asks for the referent for the pronoun they. To answer this question, you should look before the pronoun they for plural nouns that the pronoun could refer to. Humid areas, insects, and these plants come before the pronoun, so they are possible answers. You shold understand from the context that these plants have digestive fluids to obtain the necessary nitrogen from the insects, so the best answer to this question is answer (B).

The following chart outlines the key information that you should remember about pronoun referents:

 

TOEFL EXERCISE 5: Study each of the passages and choose the best answers to the questions that follow.

PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1-2)

The full moon that occurs nearest the equinox of the Sun has become known as the harvest moon. It is bright moon which allows farmers to work late into the night for several nights; they can work when the moon is at its brightest to bring in the fall harvest. The harvest moon, of course, occurs in different times of the year in the northern and southern hemispheres. In the northern hemisphere, the harvest moon occurs in September at the time of the autumnal equinox. In the southern hemisphere, the harvest moon occurs in March at the time of the vernal equinox.

1

The pronoun “It” in line 2 refers to A.       the equinox B.       the Sun C.       the harvest moon D.       the night

2

Look at the word they in the passage. Click on the word or phrase that they refers to

PASSAGE TWO (Questions 3-4)

Mardi Gras, which means “Fat Tuesday” in French, was introduced to America by French colonists in the early eighteenth century. Form that time it has grown in popularity, particularly in New Orleans, and today it is actually a legal holiday in several southern states. The Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans begins well before the actual Mardi Gras Day. Parades, parties, balls, and numerous festivities take place throughout the week before Mardi Gras Day; tourists from various countries throughout the world flock to New Orleans fro the celebration, where they take part in a week of nonstop activities before returning home for some much-needed rest.

3

The pronoun “it” in line 2 refers to A.        Mardi Gras B.        French C.        that time D.        New Orleans

4

Look at the word they in the passage. Click on the word or phrase that they refers to

  

PASSAGE THREE (Questions 5-6)

The financial firm Dow Jones and Company computers business statistics every hour on the hour of each business days of the year, and these statistics are known as the Dow Jones averages. They are based on a select group of stocks and bonds that are trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow Jones averages are composed of four different types of averages; the average price of the common stock prices of twenty transportation companies, the average prices of the common stock prices of fifteen utility companies and an overall average of all the sixty-five stocks used to compute first three averages. Probably the average that is the most commonly used is the industrial average; it is often used by an investor interested in checking the state of the stock market before making an investment in an industrial stock.

5

The pronoun “They” in line 3 refers to A.       the business days B.       these statistics C.       stocks and bonds D.       four different types

6

Look at the word it in the passage. Click on the word or phrase that it refers to

ANSWER KEY

1	C	6	industrial average
2	farmers
3	A
4	tourists
5	B