Antecedent
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The English used in this article may not be easy for everybody to understand. (March 2012) |
Antecedent is of particular importance in connection with relative pronouns. The pronoun usually opens the relative clause but the antecedent is in the main clause. For example:
I want a book that I can read.
In the above example, the relative pronoun 'that' refers back to the antecedent, the word 'book'. Therefore, the main clause is "I want a book" and the relative clause is "that I can read".
