Definition: The noun or noun phrase that a pronoun refers to.

Etymology: From the Latin, "to go before"

Examples and Observations:

"When giving treats to friends or children, give them what they like, emphatically not what is good for them." (G.K. Chesterton)

"A good essay must have this permanent quality about it; it must draw its curtain round us, but it must be a curtain that shuts us in not out." (Virginia Woolf)

"Most people are unable to write because they are unable to think, and they are unable to think because they congenitally lack the equipment to do so, just as they congenitally lack the equipment to fly over the moon." (H. L. Mencken)

"Like other pronouns, the relative pronoun has an antecedent, the noun that it refers to and replaces. "Three features of the relative pronoun will help you recognize the relative clause: (1) The relative pronoun renames the headword of the noun phrase in which it appears . . .. (2) The relative pronoun fills a sentence slot in its own clause. And (3) the relative pronoun introduces the clause, no matter what slot it fills. "Let's look at [an] example, this one a relative clause introduced by that, perhaps the most common relative pronoun: This is the house that Jack built. (1) The antecedent of that is house . . .; (2) that fills a slot in its clause; and (3) that opens its clause, even though it functions as the direct object in the clause." (Martha Kolln and Robert Funk, Understanding English Grammar, 5th ed. Allyn and Bacon, 1998)

"I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, 'Where's the self-help section?' She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose." (George Carlin)

Definition: The person, thing, or idea that a word or expression stands for. Etymology: From the Latin, "carry"

Examples and Observations:

"In [the transitive verb pattern] (My roommate and I became good friends), the two noun phrases have the same referent: My roommate and I and good friends refer to the same people. We could in fact say My roommate and I are good friends, using the linking be." (Martha Kolln, Rhetorical Grammar: Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical Effects. 3rd ed., Allyn and Bacon, 1999)

"[An] aspect of processing reference concerns the interpretation of pronouns. . . . As Just and

Carpenter (1987) noted, there are a number of bases for resolving the reference of pronouns: 1. One of the most straightforward is to use number or gender cues. Consider: Melvin, Susan, and their children left when (he, she, they) became sleepy. Each possible pronoun has a different referent. 2. A syntactic cue to pronominal reference is that pronouns tend to refer to objects in the same grammatical role (e.g., subject versus object). Consider: Floyd punched Bert and then he kicked him. Most people would agree that the subject he refers to Floyd and the object him refers toBert. 3. There is also a strong recency effect such that the most recent candidate referent is preferred. Consider: Dorothea ate the pie; Ethel ate cake; later she had coffee.

Most people would agree that she probably refers to Ethel. 4. Finally, people can use their knowledge of the world to determine reference. Compare: Tom shouted at Bill because he spilled the coffee. Tom shouted at Bill because he had a headache."