Reference Devices

Definition

Reference devices are ways that grammar allows readers and listeners to track nouns through a text. In very simple texts, we might do this by repeating the noun over and over:

• Jane saw the dog. The dog barked at Jane. “Look at the dog, Dick,” said Jane. Dick and Jane played with the dog.

But that gets boring very quickly. As oral and written texts become more sophisticated, users take advantage of reference devices to build “bridges” between people, things, and ideas. The WIDA Framework (p. 257) helpfully lists the following grammatical structures that are used as reference devices, which are explained below in more depth and with greater discrimination between word classes.

Pronoun Substitution

All pronouns refer to another noun (called an antecedent or referent) and thus function as reference devices. Pronouns include:

• Personal pronouns: Subject (I, you, he, we, they, etc.) and object (me, him, her, them, etc.) pronouns refer back to people, places, and things that have already been introduced. The first-person pronoun I establishes perspective (readers of fiction might not immediately know who the narrator is, but usually I refers to the same person throughout a text). Writers need to be careful that the referent is clear and easy to identify. Sometimes, readers might not be able to identify who she is or what they are.
• Demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, and those) are discussed below.
• Relative pronouns (who, that, which, whom, whose) are used in relative clauses. They also refer back to the head noun or something earlier in the main clause, so they are a form of reference device. Readers need to be careful to track the meaning of the relative pronoun in order to understand the meaning of the sentence. For example: You need to read the book that I assigned you by Thursday – this sentence has a mixture of personal pronouns (you, I) and a relative pronoun (that = the book: i.e. I assigned you the book). In some nonrestrictive relative clauses, the relative pronoun refers to the entire main clause, which can be especially tricky (which = the fact that the relative pronoun refers to the entire main clause).
• Certain quantifiers can be used as pronouns when they clearly refer back to a previous noun (some, many, much, few, little, most, both, all, none). For example: The famine affected the entire village. Many went hungry. (Many = many people in the village). 

Note that while most pronouns refer back to a noun that has already been mentioned, it is possible to use a pronoun to refer forwards to a name in the same sentence:

• When he entered the room, George was nervous.

Apposition (Reduced Nonrestrictive Relative Clauses)

Sometimes, when we reduce nonrestrictive relative clauses, we are left with two nouns separated by a comma:

• Elizabeth I, [who was] the Queen of England, was a patron of the theater.
• The website requires MFA, [which is] multifactor authentication.
• We are visiting San Juan, [which is] the capital of Puerto Rico.

It is important to recognize that the two noun phrases refer to the same thing!

Demonstratives (this, that, these, those)

Demonstratives actually have two different uses in English sentences. Since they are “pointing words” (this one! those ones!), they form part of the reference system.

• Demonstrative determiners modify a noun and make it more specific: This problem, those days, that cake, these ideas. Often demonstratives point back to a recent idea, e.g.: Caterpillars build cocoons. They remain in this stage until they emerge as butterflies. (this stage = the cocoon)
• Demonstrative pronouns stand by themselves – that is, they aren’t attached to a noun. This is sometimes criticized because readers might struggle to identify the reference. That is still a common practice, though.

Adverbs

Several adverbs can be reference devices because, like demonstratives, they point to specific places and times. They include:

• here (assumes the reader/listener knows the shared place), there (a place already mentioned)
• then (a time already mentioned)
• today, tomorrow, yesterday (assume the reader/listener knows the shared time)

Comparatives

Since comparatives have to be compared to something, they often form implicit references to something else in the text:

• Comparative adjectives are formed with more or the inflectional suffix -er. Generally, short adjectives (1 or 2 syllables) take the suffix (bigger, smaller, hotter, wetter, slimier, dirtier), and longer adjectives (2+ syllables) use more (more expensive/beautiful/elaborate, etc.).
• Some nouns can take comparative quantifiers (e.g. more light, less detail, fewer students).
• Adverbs can also be modified by comparatives (e.g. less quickly, more greedily).
• A related form is known as an equative, or more simply: as … as, e.g., he’s not as sleepy (as I am); the glass is as fragile as a lightbulb.

Articles

Articles (a, an, the) are a major part of the reference system. In particular the usually means that the noun is already fully identified – either by the text or the context (definite reference). This means readers or listeners might have to “look around” to understand the full meaning of the noun phrase.

For example:

• I bought a new jacket last weekend. The jacket has silver buttons. (the jacket = the one I bought last weekend)
• This is the house that Jack built. (the = the one that Jack built)
• Are you going to the store? (the speaker assumes that the listener knows which store they always go to)

By contrast, a, an, and the zero article often mean that the noun is generic or indefinite, so the reader won’t find a referent in the text. It might however be referred to later.

For example:

• When you open a bank account, you may need a driver’s license or passport. (All of these things are mentioned for the first time.) The name on the account must match the name on the piece of identity. (all these nouns are definite and refer to things mentioned or implied in the first sentence)

In the example above, notice that a driver’s license or passport is restated as the piece of identity in the next sentence. This is a common form of lexical reference (that is, cohesion created through vocabulary choices). In this case, the specific examples (driver’s license, passport) are restated with a general noun (piece of identity). The definite article the should clue readers that the piece of identity refers back to something already introduced, a useful reading skill.

Renaming

Writers often avoid repetition by renaming people and concepts. This is strictly a lexical rather than grammatical resource, but it is still an important form of cohesion. For example: Magdalena > my sister; the treehouse > our secret hideaway; students > children).

Tracking References

Multilingual learners in particular may need help tracking references through texts so they don’t get lost, especially when a text uses a lot of pronouns, restatement, or synonyms.

Consider this text about figures in the Greek myth of Apollo (source):

Apollo was one of the two children born to Zeus and the goddess Leto. When Leto was pregnant with Apollo and Artemis, she was looking for a place to give birth, but no place was willing to allow her to give birth on its territory. There was a rumor that Apollo was going to be a wild and terrible divinity, and no place wanted to take the risk that Apollo might harm his birthplace after he was born. But Leto finally convinced the small island of Delos to allow her to give birth there by promising that Apollo would have a great temple there.

But even though Leto wanted to give birth on Delos, at first she wasn’t able to do so. This was because Hera, who was jealous of Zeus’ affair with Leto, kept Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, away from the island. Iris, who was a rainbow and one of the gods’ messengers, was dispatched to bring Eileithyia, and as soon as she stepped onto the island, Apollo and Artemis were born.

In the practice activity below, identify the referent for each reference!