Back-Reference — Reacting and Referring Back with 'That'
Learn how 'that' refers back to what was just said: That's wonderful! I'm sorry to hear that. Why is that? Practice reactions, follow-up questions and narrative references.
Back-Reference: Using 'That' to React to What Was Said
One of the most productive uses of English demonstratives is anaphoric back-reference — using that to refer to a piece of information, event, or situation just mentioned by the speaker or a conversational partner. This use is almost exclusively 'that' (not 'this'), because the referred information belongs to the other person's speech or to a past state — both conceptually distant. Common learner errors include using 'this' in reactions ('This is great news!' for someone else's announcement) and using 'it' in contexts where 'that' is idiomatic ('Why is it?' instead of 'Why is that?'). Corpus data suggests that back-reference 'that' is acquired late, with B2+ learners still making substitution errors.
Reactions to Good or Bad News
"I broke my leg." — "I'm sorry to hear that."
"We won the game!" — "That's amazing!"
Follow-Up Questions and Narrative References
"She said she doesn't like you." — "Who told you that?"
The concert was amazing. That was the best night of my life.
He didn't call me back. That really annoyed me.
Common Mistakes
✗ "We're moving." — "Why is it?" → ✓ "Why is that?"
✗ "I passed!" — "This's wonderful!" → ✓ "That's wonderful!"