+202.+ You remember in our study of the parts of speech we found that we
have one part of speech that can be used in place of a noun. This is a
very helpful part of speech for it saves us a great deal of tiresome
repetition. Notice the following sentences:
John Smith is a machinist.
John Smith works at the machine.
The machine is John Smith's master.
This is awkward and the repetition is tiresome. So we say instead:
John Smith is a machinist.
He works at the machine.
It is his master.
You readily understand who and what we mean by _he_ and _it_ and _his_,
and we will all agree that the latter is a much better way of making the
statements. These words like _he_ and _his_ and _it_, which we use in
place of the noun, we call _pronouns_. _Pro_ means literally in the
Latin, _for_ or _in place of_; so when we say pronoun we are practically
saying, in place of a noun.
+A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun.+
+203.+ The word for which a pronoun stands or the noun in whose place it
is used is called its antecedent. _Ante_ means _before_ and _cedent_
comes from the Latin word meaning _go_, hence antecedent means
literally, _going before_.
Notice this sentence: _The manager spoke to the men before he left and
told them to stop at the office_. _Manager_ is the antecedent of the
pronoun _he_, and _men_ is the antecedent of the pronoun _them_.
+The word for which a pronoun stands is called its antecedent.+