Basic Details
Word: Antecedent
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Something that came before and led to a later thing. In grammar, it is the noun that a pronoun refers back to.
Synonyms: forerunner, precursor, predecessor
Antonyms: consequence, successor
Word origin: From Latin antecedere, to go before: ante, before, and cedere, to go.
How to Spell Antecedent
Syllables: an - te - ced - ent
Tricky part: It starts with ante, meaning before, not anti, meaning against. The end is dent, not dant.
Watch out for: antisedent, antecedant, antecendent
Memory tip: After the first a, every vowel in the word is e: ant-e-c-e-d-e-nt. Ante is the before part, as in an ante-room that you pass through before the main hall.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The teacher asked us to circle each pronoun and draw an arrow back to its antecedent.
Example 2: The bullock cart was an antecedent of the motor truck on village roads.
Example 3: Historians study the antecedents of the 1857 revolt to understand why it began.
Fun Fact
In logic and maths, the antecedent is the if part of an if-then statement. In If it rains, the match stops, it rains is the antecedent.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly and one is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. antisedent 2. predecessor 3. consequence 4. conjunction
a) a thing or word that comes before and is referred to later
b) a person who held a job before someone else
c) a word that joins words or clauses
d) a result that follows from an action
Show answer
a) a thing or word that comes before and is referred to later. Antisedent has slipped: the word begins with ante, meaning before, and the s sound is a c.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to antecedent as used in the sentence:
The telegraph was an important antecedent of the modern mobile phone.
a) forerunner
b) outcome
c) replacement
d) successor
Show answer
a) forerunner. The telegraph came first and led the way, so it was a forerunner.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
antec_d_nt
a) e, a
b) i, a
c) e, e
d) i, e
Show answer
c) e, e. The c and the d are each followed by an e: ante-c-e-d-e-nt, with no a anywhere after the start.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In the sentence Arjun forgot his umbrella, what is the antecedent of his?
a) forgot
b) the
c) umbrella
d) Arjun
Show answer
d) Arjun
2. The prefix ante- in antecedent means ____.
a) after
b) before
c) against
d) under
Show answer
b) before
