An reference that points to something which occurs later in the text is called what?

An reference that points to something which occurs later in the text is called what?

• A. Cataphoric reference
• B. Anaphoric reference
• C. Exophoric reference
• D. Deictic reference

Answer: (A)

Forward-looking reference is when a word or phrase points to something that will be mentioned later in the text. This is cataphoric reference. For example, in the sentence “When he arrived, John greeted everyone,” the pronoun he refers to John, who is named later in the sentence. The reader must wait to see who “he” is, which is the defining feature of a cataphora. This contrasts with anaphoric reference, where the referent has already been mentioned (e.g., “John arrived. He greeted everyone,” where he points back to John). Exophoric references point outside the text to something in the real world or shared context, and deictic references (like this, that, here, there) depend on the speaker’s location or perspective.

Forward-looking reference is when a word or phrase points to something that will be mentioned later in the text. This is cataphoric reference. For example, in the sentence “When he arrived, John greeted everyone,” the pronoun he refers to John, who is named later in the sentence. The reader must wait to see who “he” is, which is the defining feature of a cataphora.

This contrasts with anaphoric reference, where the referent has already been mentioned (e.g., “John arrived. He greeted everyone,” where he points back to John). Exophoric references point outside the text to something in the real world or shared context, and deictic references (like this, that, here, there) depend on the speaker’s location or perspective.