Advertisement The first term or numerator of a ratio. In English grammar, it … As an adjective antecedent is antecedent, preceding. Understanding the antecedent can take some time, but may greatly increase a person’s knowledge of grammar and correct writing style. As an adjective it means something that is earlier in time. The antecedent will always be placed in the independent clause, regardless of the placement of a dependent clause. A pronoun must always agree with its antecedent: Masculine - James cleaned his car. Presumptive. Font size: A pronoun takes the place of a noun. Proforms usually follow their antecedents, but sometimes they precede them, in which case one is, technically, dealing with postcedents instead of antecedents. Rule: A singular pronoun must replace a singular noun; a plural pronoun must replace a plural noun. A pronoun antecedent is a word that comes before a pronoun to which the pronoun refers. When writing, you'll use a pronoun and that pronoun will refer to some noun close by. Did You Know? Get the app! One's ancestors. Without the antecedent, the sentence remains meaningless and incomplete. his or her; their; themselves; Each is the antecedent and this is always singular, so it takes a singular pronoun. There are a number of things that you need to keep in mind with antecedents in grammar. Antecedent means a person who was born before you in your family. noun. En grammaire, un antécédent est un segment de texte représenté ou repris par un autre segment.. Habituellement, et conformément à son étymologie (anté = placé avant), l'antécédent précède le segment représentant qui est appelé anaphore :; Mon voisin a adopté un petit chien blanc.Celui-ci a aboyé toute la nuit. Can antecedent come after pronouns? More broadly, an antecedent may be any word in a sentence (or in a sequence of sentences) that another word or phrase refers to. An antecedent (AN-tuh-SEE-dent) is a grammatical device in which a pronoun, noun, or other word refers to an earlier noun or phrase. Also see: In the following sentences, certain pronouns are in bold print, and the antecedents of those pronouns are in italics. An antecedent is the previously mentioned or implied word, phrase, or clause that a pronoun replaces. However, an antecedent doesn't always have to be a noun for correct grammar usage, it can be any object which is being described by its pronoun. This is because the pronoun refers to the noun. Font size: A pronoun takes the place of a noun. Vocational rather than academic, "Grammar for Grown-ups" is packed with real-life examples and keeps you engaged with a wealth of great quotations from Homer the Greek to Homer the Simpson. President Lincoln is the ANTECEDENT for the pronoun his. Antecedent Whenever you use a pronoun, do a quick check to ensure its antecedent is present and obvious. An Action Word. Examples. How to use antecedent in a sentence. Opposite of introductory, preliminary, serving as a prelude or preface. The prefix ante- means "before" or "in front of", and post- mea Dictionary ... (grammar) A word, phrase or clause referred to by a pronoun. In English grammar, an antecedent is the noun or noun phrase that a pronoun refers to. The linguistic term that is closely related to antecedent and proform is anaphora. Also known as a referent . Editing Exercise: Correcting Errors in Pronoun Reference, Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia, M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester, B.A., English, State University of New York. In English grammar we have a term called number, and, unlike number in math, number in grammar means one of two things: singular (only one) or plural (more than one). A proform takes its meaning from its antecedent; e.g., "John arrived late because traffic held him up." Antecedent is one such term. We use his or her as male or female is not specified. 1. 2. An antecedent improbability. as the cause of an event or situation: The book dealt with the historical antecedents of the Civil War. Most often the word replacing the antecedent is a pronoun. The pronounusually begins the relative clauseand the antecedent is in the main clause. An antecedent is the word that a pronoun replaces or refers to. An antecedent (AN-tuh-SEE-dent) is a grammatical device in which a pronoun, noun, or other word refers to an earlier noun or phrase. The pronoun usually begins the relative clause and the antecedent is in the main clause.. that gives its meaning to a proform (pronoun, pro-verb, pro-adverb, etc.). Menu. What is an antecedent? The prefix ante (meaning before) might make you think that the word the pronoun refers to necessarily comes before the pronoun. The pronoun him refers to and takes its meaning from John, so John is the antecedent of him. Some of the most basic antecedent examples in grammar have both the noun and the pronoun, where the noun is usually known as the antecedent.