Antecedent

When the antecedent is this, that, these or those it is usual to use 'which'.

If we alter the construction of such sentences, the missing antecedent is often restored.

Alchemy was the antecedent of chemistry.

an antecedent cause

an event antecedent to the Biblical Flood

an antecedent improbability

The Boston agent added that this clerk was a young man of wholly unquestioned veracity and reliability, of known antecedents and long with the company.

[W]hereas it might seem orderly that, as who is appropriated to persons, so that should have been appropriated to things […] the antecedent of that is often personal

One such condition can be formulated in terms of the c-command relation defined in (9) above: the relevant condition is given in (16) below: (16) C-COMMAND CONDITION ON ANAPHORS An anaphor must have an appropriate c-commanding antecedent