Which antecedent

An antecedent cause. Going before; preceding. An ancestor. Anything logically preceding. The word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers. The first term or numerator of a ratio. One's ancestors.

One that precedes another. Any thing that precedes another thing, especially the cause of the second thing. Ready for the Test? Here is a confirmatory test for this lesson. This test can also be: Edited i. Printed to create a handout. Sent electronically to friends or students. Full Definition of antecedent Entry 1 of 2. Definition of antecedent Entry 2 of 2. Other Words from antecedent Adjective antecedently adverb. Choose the Right Synonym for antecedent Adjective preceding , antecedent , foregoing , previous , prior , former , anterior mean being before.

Did you know? Adjective I'd like to follow up on an antecedent question from another reporter. Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The principal problem seems to be a deeper antecedent offense. First Known Use of antecedent Noun 15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Adjective 15th century, in the meaning defined above.

Learn More About antecedent. Time Traveler for antecedent The first known use of antecedent was in the 15th century See more words from the same century. Many people might attend a school, work for a business, or volunteer at an organization, but when the name of that school, business, or organization is the antecedent, you must ignore—for the purpose of agreement—all the people involved and use a singular pronoun.

When Weaver High School won the regional football championship on a technicality, we sneaked onto campus the next evening and cut all four legs off its tiger mascot. Save room for dessert, for Tito's Taco Palace offers its diners fried ice cream with habanero jelly.

PencilGang International met its fundraising goal last year, so free pencils will be distributed to needy writers worldwide. Simmons All Rights Reserved. The Antecedent Recognize an antecedent when you find one. Antecedents and Personal Pronouns Often, an antecedent is the word, phrase , or clause that you replace with a third-person personal pronoun : Third-Person Personal Pronouns he, him, his, himself she, her, hers, herself it, its, itself they, them, their, theirs, themselves Here are examples: Adeline bit her lip.

Antecedents and Demonstrative Pronouns Other times, the antecedent might be the word, phrase , or clause that a demonstrative pronoun replaces. Demonstrative Pronouns this, that, these, those Read the examples below: Jackson rides his skateboard to work. Antecedents and Relative Pronouns Sometimes the antecedent is the point of reference for a relative pronoun.

Relative Pronouns who, whom, whose, that, which Read these examples: Principal Meyers , whose nose hair curled outside his nostrils, delivered the morning announcements. Some antecedents can make pronoun agreement tricky. A singular antecedent requires a singular pronoun, like this: The cat yowled its happiness for tuna.

And a plural antecedent requires a plural pronoun, like this: The cats yowled their happiness for tuna. Sometimes, however, establishing agreement can be tricky. Consider the situations below. Each and Every When you join two or more singular nouns with and , you create a plural antecedent: The beetle and baby snake were thankful that they escaped the lawnmower blade.

If, however, you include each or every in front, the antecedent becomes singular and will thus require a singular pronoun: Each beetle and baby snake was thankful that it escaped the lawnmower blade. No matter how many nouns you include, if you have each or every in front, the antecedent is singular and needs a singular pronoun for agreement: Each beetle, baby snake, worm, centipede, lizard, grasshopper, and toad was thankful that it escaped the lawnmower blade.

Correlative Conjunctions When you use correlative conjunctions like either If, for example, the second antecedent is plural, then the pronoun that follows must be plural: Not only Freddy the nose picker but also grateful shoppers replenished their supply of tissues during the drugstore sale. But if the second antecedent is singular, then you need a singular pronoun to maintain agreement: Not only grateful shoppers but also Freddy the nose picker replenished his supply of tissues during the drugstore sale.

Singular Indefinite Pronouns Indefinite pronouns , a special class of words, will often be antecedents. Singular Indefinite Pronouns each, either, neither, one anybody, anyone, anything everybody, everyone, everything nobody, no one, nothing somebody, someone, something Read these examples: Neither of Jasmine's boyfriends knows that he has competition.

In older publications, you will find writers exclusively using a masculine personal pronoun he , him , his , or himself to establish agreement with a singular indefinite pronoun such as everyone : When Professor Duncan shouted, "Time is up!