i have no clue and need help.
2006-09-05 14:50:08 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Homework Help
An antecedent is the word that a pronoun stands for.
Ex. The athlete extended a hand to his opponent.
His is the pronoun and athlete is the antecedent.
;-)
2006-09-05 14:52:36 · answer #1 · answered by Alybaba 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An antecedent is the noun, compound noun, or pronoun to which a pronoun refers. The referent pronoun and its antecedent must agree in person, number, and gender.
To check for pronoun/antecedent agreement, first find the referent pronoun. Then figure out to which word the pronoun refers; this is the antecedent. Finally, confirm that the pronoun and antecedent are in agreement.
The student studied their vocabulary.
This is an obvious error in number agreement. The pronoun "their" is plural but the subject "student" is singular. Change the number of either the pronoun or the antecedent so that they are in agreement.
The students studied their vocabulary.
The student studied his vocabulary.
With practice, all errors in pronoun/antecedent agreement with be as simple as this to correct. There are just a few rules to remember.
+ When the antecedent is an indefinite pronoun, the referent pronoun must match it in number. Independent singular pronouns take singular referent pronouns; plural indefinite pronouns take plural referent pronouns.
Each of my friends passed their test.
This sentence is incorrect. The antecedent is not "friends" because this word is the object of a preposition. The antecedent is the subject, "each," which is a singular indefinite pronoun. Therefore, the pronoun that refers back to "each" must be singular.
Each of my friends passed his test.
This sentence is correct. The following sentence is also correct:
Several of my friends passed their test.
Since "several" is a plural indefinite pronoun, the referent pronoun must be plural.
+ The antecedent in an "either/or" or "neither/nor" couple is the word that is closer to the pronoun. Consider crossing out all the words from "either" to "or" (or "neither" to "nor") to make it easier to identify the antecedent.
Neither the students nor the teacher finished their work.
This sentence is incorrect. The antecedent is "teacher" because this word is closer to the pronoun than "students." The pronoun must be singular because the antecedent is singular.
Neither the students nor the teacher finished his work.
+ When the antecedent is a collective noun, look at the context of the sentence to determine the number of the referent pronoun.
The team won its game.
The team as a collective unit won the game, so the referent pronoun is singular.
The team put on their uniforms.
The individual members of the team put on individual uniforms, so the pronoun is plural.
The jury made its decision.
The jury as a collective unit made a decision, so the pronoun is singular.
The jury could not make up their minds.
The individual members of the jury could not make up their individual minds, so the pronoun is plural.
+ When the antecedent is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by and, the referent pronoun is plural.
The cat and the dog ate their food.
2006-09-05 21:59:12 · answer #2 · answered by Miss M ♥ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means something that happened before. If it's a grammar question, it means the noun that a following pronoun stands for. Like "The dog bit his master's hand", dog is the antecedent for his.
2006-09-05 21:54:27 · answer #3 · answered by hayharbr 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An antecedent is the first term in a ratio or the first or third term in a proportion.
2006-09-05 21:54:41 · answer #4 · answered by Hogan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An antecedent is the word to which a pronoun refers. It is also sometimes called the pronoun referent.
Example:
Kelly is really pretty. She has brown hair.
The pronoun "she" refers to the antecedent "Kelly" - i.e., you know that "she" means Kelly.
2006-09-05 21:52:52 · answer #5 · answered by dark_phoenix 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
go to this link and it might be a good idea to write it down, could help you in the future.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antecedent
en.wikipedia.org is an on line dictionary
2006-09-05 21:55:24 · answer #6 · answered by butterfly 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All good answers, but if I were to ask you; "what are your antecedents", you would reply with your ancestry.
2006-09-05 22:01:42 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
antecedent-Going before; preceding.
2006-09-05 21:55:07 · answer #8 · answered by fuzzy w 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's as small story some one tells you illustrating some specific point on a subject.
2006-09-05 21:53:33 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
uh
2006-09-05 21:56:43 · answer #10 · answered by starwarsyodas 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋