[Sidenote: _The antecedent._]

105. The antecedent of a pronoun is the noun, pronoun, or other
word or expression, for which the pronoun stands. It usually precedes
the pronoun.

Personal pronouns of the third person may have antecedents also, as
they take the place usually of a word already used; as,--

The priest hath _his_ fee who comes and shrives us.--LOWELL

In this, both _his_ and _who_ have the antecedent _priest_.

The pronoun _which_ may have its antecedent following, and the
antecedent may be a word or a group of words, as will be shown in the
remarks on _which_ below.


[Sidenote: _Two kinds._]

106. Relatives may be SIMPLE or INDEFINITE.

When the word _relative_ is used, a simple relative is meant.
Indefinite relatives, and the indefinite use of simple relatives, will
be discussed further on.

The SIMPLE RELATIVES are _who_, _which_, _that_, _what_.