Strategy 4: Look for Signal
Words
Signal Words
 Often, certain words will signal to
the reader the missing word’s
synonym is in the preceding
sentence or close by.
 These signal words are called
demonstrative adjectives or
pronouns.
 Demonstrative adjectives tell how
many and where nouns are
located:
 This dog is mine.
 Those books are expensive.
 That car caused the accident.
 These trees need to be trimmed.
Demonstrative Adjectives
 Demonstrative adjectives come
before a noun and have specific
meanings:
 This indicates singular and close
proximity.
 These indicates plural and close
proximity.
 That indicates singular and distant
proximity.
 Those indicates plural and distant
proximity.
Practice: Choose the best
demonstrative adjective.
 _________ books next to me are mine.
 A) This
B) That
C) These
D) Those
 Is _________ woman immediately to my left your mother?
 A) This
B) That
C) These
D) Those
 Are _________ guys over there with you?
 A) This
B) That
C) These
D) Those
 _________ test we took yesterday was tough!
 A) This
B) That
C) These
D) Those
Demonstrative Pronouns
 If a noun does not follow
demonstrative words (this, that,
these, those) then they are
demonstrative pronouns.
 They refer to a person, place, or
thing in a previous sentence or
close by.
 Demonstrative pronouns and
adjectives are used in writing to
provide more information about a
topic.
Practice: Demonstrative Pronouns
 "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."
(Mark Twain)
 What does “This” refer to?
 “The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go
outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens,
nature and God.” (Anne Frank)
 Who does those refer to?
 “Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” (Martin Luther King)
 What does “that” refer to?
 “These are the times that try men’s souls.” (Thomas Paine)
 What does “these” refer to?
Cloze Tests
 Demonstrative adjectives and
pronouns are common in Cloze
tests.
 Now we know that if there is a
missing word after one of the
demonstratives (this, that, these,
those), we need to look for a
synonym in the previous sentence
or nearby.
Practice
The scientists wanted some idea of what was happening
in the volunteers’ brains during the tests. So they
performed brain scans using what is known as functional
magnetic resonance imaging. These (1)_________
showed that when people looked at the faces, activity
sometimes increased in a brain area called the orbital
frontal cortex. In fact, it only increased when someone
successfully avoided pushing the button. That suggests
this (2)_________ of the brain helps curb the impulse to
react inappropriately, Caudle reported.
Which word best fits
in the missing
spaces?
1)
a)Brains
b)Scans
c)People
d)Volunteers
2)
a)
b)
c)
d)
Part
Activity
Scan
Image
Practice Explained
 The scientists wanted some idea of what was happening in the volunteers’
brains during the tests. So they performed brain scans using what is known
as functional magnetic resonance imaging. These (1) SCANS showed that
when people looked at the faces, activity sometimes increased in a brain
area called the orbital frontal cortex. In fact, it only increased when
someone successfully avoided pushing the button. That suggests this
(2)PART of the brain helps curb the impulse to react inappropriately, Caudle
reported.
 The signal words are in maroon.
 The answers are in red.
 The words in green are the synonyms or same words to help you figure out
the missing words.