In
grammar, an
antecedent is an expression (word, phrase, clause, etc.) that gives its meaning to a
pro-form (pronoun, pro-verb, pro-adverb, etc.). A proform takes its meaning from its antecedent, e.g.
Susan arrived late because traffic held her up. The noun
her refers to and takes its meaning from
Susan, so
Susan is the antecedent of
her. Proforms usually follow their antecedents, but sometimes they precede them, in which case one is, technically, dealing with
postcedents instead of antecedents. The prefix
ante- means 'before' or 'in front of', and
post- means 'after' or 'behind'. The term
antecedent stems from traditional grammar. The linguistic term that is closely related to
antecedent and
proform is
anaphora. Theories of syntax explore the distinction between antecedents and postcedents in terms of
binding.