IDENTIFYING THE REFERENT OF PRONOUNS

STARTER
A. Write the referent or antecedent of the underlined pronoun in each sentence:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Robert couldnt get the proposal out of his mind. He kept thinking about it.
Liza thought her brother was kidding when he told her he stopped the exam.
The people cast their votes in favor of the governments proposition.
The beautiful moon rose and its silvery light fell on the sleeping town.
The musician was awed by the bright sky lit up by the moon that he was inspired to compose a
sonata.
6. Excess food is converted into fats and stored in special fat cells. These cells can increase in
number so that a person puts on weight and gets fat.
7. Exercise is needed by the body because it helps the heart pump efficiently.
8. Hellen Keller inspired millions of people with her faith and determination.
9. The old regime encouraged the migration of Filipinos overseas, seeing it as a solution to long
standing problems of unemployment and underemployment.
10. Studies have shown that migrant families tend to have high savings rate in proportion to their
income.
REINFORCER
B. Identify the pronoun/s and its antecedent/s in the following sentences:
1. The Philippines is lucky because it has a lot of options in choosing energy sources.
2. Geothermal energy is the natural heat of the earth. This energy comes in the form of steam
that turns giant turbines, which in turn generates electricity.
3. Geothermal energy operations may trigger small seismic events, but these help relieve the
pressure within the planet in small doses and prevent build-up of tension.
4. Drugs and medications are not the best solutions against infections. These chemicals merely
suppress the symptoms.
5. One is always advised to rest. This is what the immune system really needs to overcome and
defeat microbes.
6. The immune system is amazingly complicated. It may be compared to an army protecting the
body from foreign intrusions all the time.
7. Nutritional Immunology is the key to a longer, healthier life. It helps promote the immune
system as the best defense against illnesses.
8. Although it is described as the largest continent, Asia is, in fact, the eastern section of an even
greater landmass called Eurasia.
9. Marco Polo was the first traveler to trace a route across the whole longitude of Asia, naming
and describing kingdom after kingdom which he had seen with his own eyes.
10. He was the first to reveal Burma with its golden pagodas and its tinkling crowns; of Laos, of
Siam, of Cochin, China, and of Japan with its rosy pearls and golden-roofed palaces.

Challenger
C. Identify the word or words to which each underlined word in the paragraph refer. Write your
answer in the space provided after the selection.
Anne Sullivan, who later became Mrs. John Macy, remained with Miss Helen Keller until her
death. She was simply Teacher to Helenand the child made remarkable progress. Within a
few weeks, Helen knew the meaning of more than a hundred words and learned new ones
every day. Very quickly, she mastered not only the manual alphabet, but also various forms or
fairsed painting, including Braille. She was not satisfied with this, however. She was
determined to learn to talk. Eventually, with Anne Sullivans help, she achieved this goal,
although many sounds were difficult for her to pronounce, and her voice lacked color and the
ability to vary tone.
As Helen learned to communicate, an extraordinary intelligence and a spirit of rare beauty
began to unfold, qualities which grew throughout her lifetime. Determined to go to college, this
amazing young woman went first to the Cambridge School for Young Ladies and in 1900, to
Radcliffe College in Cambridege, Massachusetts, from which she graduated cum laude four
years later. It was Anne Sullivan who made this miracle possible, sitting by heles side in
every class, tapping the professors words into her hand, reading to her by the hour, until her
own eyes were red and inflamed.
When in college, Miss Keller wrote her first book, The Story of My Life. Translated into 50
languages, it has brought inspiration to millions, especially to the blind who have traced its
words in Braille, and those who have vision and can read it. From this book, the world first
began to learn about the unconquerable spirit of this woman. Later, she wrote score of
magazine articles and ten books more.
1. her
2. the child
3. ones
4. this
5. she
6. she
7. her
8. this amazing young
9. this miracle
10. her
11. her
12. it
13. those
14. this book
15. this woman