Main points

* You can use pronouns and determiners to refer back to something that has already been mentioned.

* You use coordinating conjunctions to link clauses.

1 When you speak or write, you usually need to make some connection with other things that you are saying or writing. The most common way of doing this is by referring back to something that has already been mentioned.

2 One way of referring back to something is to use a personal pronoun such as `she’, `it’, or `them’, or a possessive pronoun such as `mine’ or `hers’.
My father is fat. He weighs over fifteen stone.
Mary came in. She was a good-looking woman.
`Have you been to London ?’ – `Yes, it was very crowded.’
`Have you heard of David Lodge ?’ – `Yes, I’ve just read a novel of his.’
`Would you mind moving your car , please?’ – `It’s not mine.’

3 You can also use a specific determiner such as `the’ or `his’ in front of a noun to refer back to something.
A man and a woman were walking up the hill. The man wore shorts, a T-shirt, and basketball sneakers. The woman wore a print dress.
`Thanks,’said Brody. He put the telephone down, turned out the light in his office, and walked out to his car.

4 The demonstratives `this’, `that’, `these’ and `those’ are also used to refer back to a thing or fact that has just been mentioned.
In 1973 he went on a caravan holiday . At the beginning of this holiday he began to experience pain in his chest.
There’s a lot of material there. You can use some of that.

5 The following general determiners can also be used to refer back to something:
anothereacheveryother
botheitherneither

Five officials were sacked. Another four were arrested.
There are more than two hundred and fifty species of shark, and every one is different.

6 Another common way of making connections in spoken or written English is by using one of the following coordinating conjunctions:

andnorsoyet
butorthen

Anna had to go into town and she wanted to go to Bride Street.
I asked if I could borrow her bicycle but she refused.
He was only a boy then, yet he was not afraid.

You can use a coordinating conjunction to link clauses that have the same subject. When you link clauses which have the same subject, you do not always need to repeat the subject in the second clause.
She was born in Budapest and raised in Manhattan.
He didn’t yell or scream.
When she saw Morris she went pale, then blushed.

7 Most subordinating conjunctions can also be used to link sentences together, rather than to link a subordinate clause with a main clause in the same sentence.
`When will you do it?’ – `When I get time.’
`Can I borrow your car?’ – `So long as you drive carefully.’
We send that by airmail. Therefore , it’s away on Thursday and our client gets it on Monday.

8 When people are speaking or writing, they often use words that refer back to similar words, or words that refer back to a whole sentence or paragraph.
Everything was quiet . Everywhere there was the silence of the winter night.
`What are you going to do?’ – `That’s a good question.’