Antecedents: Definition and Meaning

What do you think when you read the following paragraph?

Jameson stood far back in the alley. Jameson lit Jameson’s cigarette and drew on the cigarette, making the cigarette crackle and glow in the dark, lighting part of Jameson’s face.

You see a scene is developing. As it is, you may begin to notice the language while you’re moving through it, possibly because repetition is distracting you.

Now consider this this passage:

He needs to adjust his behavior. At first he might have been cute, but now he’s just irritating them. They might want to avoid him. If they avoid him, they may also avoid us.

Is this paragraph describing an impulsive man, or could it also depict an unrefined male dog? Without a clear identifying reference, we don’t really know.

What Are Antecedents?

All pronouns must have a clear, identifiable antecedent, which is the noun or noun phrase that a pronoun replaces or refers back to. This makes antecedents and pronouns bound to each other.

We call the noun or noun phrase an antecedent because it usually comes before the pronoun (the prefix ante- comes from the Latin word for before or in front of).

That ’86 Chevy [antecedent] is about to lose its [pronoun] muffler.

Are you even going to play the guitars [antecedent] before you buy them [pronoun]?

Occasionally, the antecedent will appear after the pronoun. When it does, we would more technically refer to it as a postcedent (post- = after):

For his final film, the renowned director Zhi Han chose a new script by the famous screenwriter Mason McReady.

The identifying noun (Zhi Han) comes after the pronoun (his), but the reference is still clear.

Antecedents: Why We Need Them

Our communication would fast become monotonous, redundant, and vague if we did not have antecedents and pronouns working together.

Antecedents without pronouns: Jameson stood far back in the alley. Jameson lit Jameson’s cigarette and drew on the cigarette, making the cigarette crackle and glow in the dark, lighting part of Jameson’s face.

Antecedents with pronouns: Jameson stood far back in the alley. He lit his cigarette and drew on it, making it crackle and glow in the dark, lighting part of his face.

The use of antecedents with pronouns (Jameson, he, his; cigarette, it) allows us to avoid droning and distracting repetition while reducing content space. Note too that antecedents should be close enough to their pronouns for their connections to be clear.

Let’s look at another example from the opposite view.

Pronouns without antecedents: He needs to adjust his behavior. At first he might have been cute, but now he’s just irritating them. They might want to avoid him. If they avoid him, they may also avoid us.

Pronouns with antecedents: Your brother needs to adjust his behavior. At first he might have been cute, but now he‘s just irritating people. They might want to avoid him. If they avoid him, they may also avoid us.

Having clear antecedents (your brother, people) for the pronouns lets us infer we’re considering a person and not an unruly pet. We also understand the scope of the reference to they (people in general).

Antecedents: Number and Gender

Maintaining the correct number and gender of antecedent-pronoun relationships is central to clear, effective writing.

How would you interpret this sentence?

All of the students are encouraged to buy her tickets before the game.

We have a collective noun (all) with a plural connotation (students) followed by a singular female possessive pronoun (her). Are all of the students female? Or is there only one individual—a female—selling tickets, and every student is buying from her?

Going by the information we have, a clear antecedent-pronoun connection would be:

All [collective-noun antecedent] of the students [object indicating plural antecedent collective noun] are encouraged to purchase their [plural pronoun for plural antecedent] tickets before the game.

When a collective noun has a singular connotation, it operates as a singular antecedent with a singular pronoun.

Each of the girls’ soccer champions will receive her [not their] medal at the ceremony.

Two or more antecedents joined by and are referred to by a plural pronoun.

Jameson and Martin made their secret business exchange by cover of night.

Two or more singular antecedents joined by or or nor are referred to by a singular pronoun.

Either Jameson or Martin has outlined his conditions for the transaction.

Neither Jameson nor Martin has outlined his conditions for the transaction.

If one of two antecedents joined by or or nor is singular and one is plural, the pronoun usually agrees with the nearer antecedent.

Either Jameson or his silent partners have outlined their conditions for the transaction.

One exception in contemporary writing is the occasional use of their for a singular antecedent, particularly if the antecedent’s gender is not certain or known or is preferred to be unspecified. The writer also may wish to avoid cumbersome phrasing such as his or her.

Another coworker will lend me their stapler. (The coworker is not yet identified.)

Which of the following treatments would you prefer when writing today?

Each athlete should sign his or her participation agreement before training begins.

Each athlete should sign their participation agreement before training begins.

Pop Quiz

Make the correct choice in its context according to your understanding of antecedents and pronouns.

1. All of the investors need to consider [his / her / their] current portfolio strategies.

2. That old ukulele is missing one of [his / its / their] strings.

3. Why spend all of your time staring at that dinnerware set if you’re not going to buy [him / it / them]?

4. Just tell the Washingtons I haven’t received [his / her / their] letter yet.

5. If what [your brother / your brothers] must do is now stated, they will have to provide their full disclosure by tomorrow.

 

Pop Quiz Answers

1. All of the investors need to consider their current portfolio strategies.

2. That old ukulele is missing one of its strings.

3. Why spend all of your time staring at that dinnerware set if you’re not going to buy it?

4. Just tell the Washingtons I haven’t received their letter yet.

5. If what your brothers must do is now stated, they will have to provide their full disclosure by tomorrow.

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