What is the antecedent for the pronoun shown in bold in this sentence?

Marietta’s sister asked if she could borrow the new red sweater that their mother had bought for Marietta’s birthday.

A.

Marietta

B.

sister

C.

sweater

D.

mother

The correct option is B. sister.

Explanation:

The pronoun that is present in the sentence is the subject pronoun "she". Pronouns are used to substitute nouns previously mentioned, with the purpose of avoiding repetition. Therefore, we have an antecedent for the pronoun "she". All we have to do is analyze the previous part of the sentence.

We have "Marietta's sister asked if she could borrow..." Who are we talking about, Marietta or her sister? Her sister. What did she ask? If she could borrow the red sweater. So, all this time, we are talking about the same person, the sister. As we continue reading the sentence, we also realized that the sweater belongs to Marietta, so Marietta cannot be the one asking to borrow it. The sweater was bought by their mother, but she has not been mentioned before this fact; she is not the one borrowing it. In conclusion, the pronoun "she" refers to the sister.