Section 2 The Business Writer's Alphabetical Reference 77 Antecedent An antecedent is a word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. In a series of sentences, the antecedent is understood after being referenced once in a sentence or previous sentence, and therefore a pronoun is used to avoid repetition. In the following example, the antecedent and pronoun are underlined. Example: The Titanic was lost on its maiden voyage. It was said to be unsinkable. Third-person pronouns (he, she, it, they) need an antecedent to be clear. First- person pronouns like I and you do not. A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in three ways: Person--It must specify a particular person. Number--It must distinguish between singular and plural. Gender--It must distinguish between masculine and feminine. Anti- The prefix anti- comes from Greek and means against. Anti- is often added to words to create new words that mean the opposite of the original word. Example: anticrime, antisocial, antiglare Antimetabole Antimetabole is a technique where a word or phrase in one clause or phrase is repeated in the opposite order in the next clause or phrase. Example: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."--John F. Kennedy Example: "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."--Jesus (Mark 2:27)