---
title: antecedent — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «antecedent» in the school dictionary: An antecedent is something that came before something else and led to it. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# antecedent

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** antecedent, pronoun, Sam, antecedents, dog, you · **What happens:** be, come, lead, refer, lose, mean · **To what, where:** something, antecedent, noun, hat, ancestors, tail · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«antecedent» in the school dictionary: its 4 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [antecedent in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/antecedent.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An antecedent is something that came before something else and led to it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:antecedent:m1:1
# text = An antecedent is something that came before something else and led to it.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	antecedent	antecedent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	0	root	_	_
5	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	6	nsubj	_	_
6	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
7	before	before	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	obl	_	_
9	else	else	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	led	lead	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
12	to	to	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a antecedent | something |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **come** | past |  |  |  | something |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme before something=Location |
| 3 | **lead** | past |  |  | antecedent |  |  |  | vn result-27.2 «NP V PP»: agent=Precondition to it=Patient |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: grammar — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An antecedent is the noun or phrase that a pronoun refers back to: in «Sam lost his hat», «Sam» is the antecedent of «his».

<!-- fold The tree, 24 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:antecedent:m2:1
# text = An antecedent is the noun or phrase that a pronoun refers back to: in «Sam lost his hat», «Sam» is the antecedent of «his».
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	antecedent	antecedent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	noun	noun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	phrase	phrase	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
8	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	pronoun	pronoun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
11	refers	refer	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
12	back	back	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
13	to	to	ADP	IN	_	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	28	punct	_	_
15	in	in	SCONJ	IN	_	18	mark	_	_
16	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	Sam	Sam	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	_
18	lost	lose	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	28	advcl	_	_
19	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	20	nmod:poss	_	_
20	hat	hat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
23	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	24	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	Sam	Sam	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	28	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	24	punct	_	_
26	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	28	cop	_	_
27	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	28	det	_	_
28	antecedent	antecedent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	appos	_	_
29	of	of	ADP	IN	_	31	case	_	_
30	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	31	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	28	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	28	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a antecedent | the noun or phrase |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **refer** | present | a pronoun |  |  |  |  |  | vn relate-86.2-2 «NP V PP.co-theme»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **lose** *in a quote* | past | Sam | Sam's hat |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hat=Eventuality |
| 4 | **is a** | present | Sam | Sam's antecedent |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: plural, formal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Your antecedents are your ancestors or family background.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:antecedent:m3:1
# text = Your antecedents are your ancestors or family background.
1	Your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	antecedents	antecedent	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	ancestors	ancestor	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	background	background	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Your antecedents | your ancestors or family background |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: formal adjective — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Antecedent means coming before.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:antecedent:m4:1
# text = Antecedent means coming before.
1	Antecedent	antecedent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	coming	come	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	xcomp	_	_
4	before	before	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Antecedent |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **come** *not said to happen* | gerund | Antecedent *not said here* |  |  |  |  | before *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In «The dog wagged its tail», «dog» is the antecedent of «its».

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:antecedent:x1:1
# text = In «The dog wagged its tail», «dog» is the antecedent of «its».
1	In	in	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
2	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	wagged	wag	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
10	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	_
13	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	antecedent	antecedent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	parataxis	_	_
16	of	of	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wag** *in a quote* | past | the dog | dog's tail |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is a** | present | dog | the antecedent |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Make sure every pronoun has a clear antecedent.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:antecedent:x2:1
# text = Make sure every pronoun has a clear antecedent.
1	Make	make	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	sure	sure	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	xcomp	_	_
3	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	4	det	_	_
4	pronoun	pronoun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	clear	clear	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	antecedent	antecedent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | sure *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |
| 2 | **have** | present | every pronoun | a clear antecedent |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent antecedent=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The bicycle's antecedent was a wooden walking machine.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:antecedent:x3:1
# text = The bicycle's antecedent was a wooden walking machine.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bicycle	bicycle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	antecedent	antecedent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
7	wooden	wooden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
8	walking	walking	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	machine	machine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the bicycle's antecedent | a wooden walking machine |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The causes antecedent to the war were complicated.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:antecedent:x4:1
# text = The causes antecedent to the war were complicated.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	causes	cause	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	antecedent	antecedent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	war	war	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	complicated	complicated	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present |  | the antecedent |  |  |  | to the war | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | past | the antecedent |  |  |  |  | complicated *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His antecedents came from Ireland.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:antecedent:x5:1
# text = His antecedents came from Ireland.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	antecedents	antecedent	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	Ireland	Ireland	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | past | His antecedents |  |  | Ireland |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from ireland=Initial\_Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The penny-farthing was an antecedent of the modern bike.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:antecedent:x6:1
# text = The penny-farthing was an antecedent of the modern bike.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	penny	penny	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	farthing	farthing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	antecedent	antecedent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	modern	modern	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	bike	bike	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the penny farthing | a antecedent |  |  |  | of the modern bike | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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