Glossary
pronoun
A pronoun stands in for a noun the passage has already named — it, they, this, which — and what it points at is often the whole question.
Pronoun is a word that stands in for a noun the passage has already named, or is about to name. It, they, this, that, which and these do most of that work, and they are where a passage hides the thing it is really comparing, moving or proposing: a sentence that begins which is why or that is the point is pointing back at something, and knowing what decides what the sentence means. Two habits pay on this topic. Follow the pronoun back and read the antecedent into the sentence before you answer, especially on items that quote a whole line and ask what job it does. And treat this and which as flags: a sentence opening with one is making a claim about the sentence before it, which is usually a move in the passage's structure. Pronouns are also the first evidence for point of view — I and we mean a speaker inside the text, you means the reader is being addressed, and a passage with none of them is reporting from outside.
Taught in
Related terms
- text structure — Text structure is how a passage is arranged — chronological, cause then effect, problem then solution, general then specific, concession then counterpoint, or claim, evidence, recommendation — and what in the wording signals that arrangement.
- structural clue — A structural clue is a word in the text that shows how the passage is built — a transition word, a pronoun and its antecedent, or a repeated key phrase.
- point of view — Point of view is who is speaking in a passage and what that voice knows, assumes or wants — found in the pronouns and in what the passage chooses to report.
- antecedent — An antecedent is the noun a pronoun stands for — the thing it, which or this points back at in the sentence or the one before it.
Source: The reading skills ATI names in its own Content Outline (R.2.1-R.2.4, under the Craft and structure sub-content area), plus the tone and passage-structure skills that sub-content area's published description names; each definition below is written for the Craft and Structure guide in this exam, in our own words, and explains the skill the way the guide teaches it. (ATI Content Outline read 2026-10-09; definitions written 2026-10-09)