What is the term for the noun or noun phrase that a pronoun refers to?

What is the term for the noun or noun phrase that a pronoun refers to?

• A. Antecedent
• B. Referent
• C. Subject
• D. Object

Answer: (A)

In pronoun use, the noun phrase that a pronoun refers back to is called the antecedent. The antecedent is the expression in the sentence that the pronoun stands in for, helping the discourse stay clear without repeating the same noun. For example: “Alex forgot his keys, but he found them later.” Here, Alex is the antecedent for the pronouns his and he. If you think about what the pronoun points to in the real world, that would be the referent, but the term for the noun phrase that the pronoun replaces in the sentence is antecedent.

In pronoun use, the noun phrase that a pronoun refers back to is called the antecedent. The antecedent is the expression in the sentence that the pronoun stands in for, helping the discourse stay clear without repeating the same noun. For example: “Alex forgot his keys, but he found them later.” Here, Alex is the antecedent for the pronouns his and he. If you think about what the pronoun points to in the real world, that would be the referent, but the term for the noun phrase that the pronoun replaces in the sentence is antecedent.