What term describes referring back to something already said in the conversation?

• A. Anaphoric references
• B. Cataphora
• C. Deixis
• D. Pronoun reference

Answer: (A)

This is about anaphora, which is a backward-looking reference in discourse. When something in a sentence or later sentence points back to something already mentioned, it relies on that earlier element to share meaning. For example, “Alex arrived late. He missed the bus.” Here the pronoun “He” refers back to Alex, linking the second sentence to the first. That linking back to a prior mention is exactly what anaphora describes.

Cataphora would be forward reference—where a later noun or name is pointed to by an earlier pronoun, like “When she arrived, Maria waved.” Deixis involves words that depend on the speaker’s context, such as this, that, here, there, whose reference shifts with who’s speaking and where. Those aren’t about linking to something already said, so they don’t fit this scenario. Pronoun reference is a broader idea about pronouns referring to something, but the precise pattern described—referencing something previously stated—maps onto the term anaphora.