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.
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She passed all her exams. ___ is wonderful news!
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That
Use 'that' to refer back to a fact that has just been mentioned.
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He apologised for being so rude. ___ was very kind of him.
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That
Use 'that' to refer back to an action or fact just mentioned.
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'I've decided to leave my job.' '___ is a big decision.'
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That
Use 'that' to comment on something the other person has just said.
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Listen to ___: I've just got some amazing news!
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this
Use 'this' for something you are about to say or show.
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She promised to help us, but ___ turned out to be untrue.
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that
Use 'that' to refer back to something already said.
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He said the project was a failure, but I don't agree with ___ at all.
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that
Use 'that' to refer back to an opinion someone has just expressed.
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!"
Last updated: · Satori Editorial