Cataphoric vs Anaphoric

Assalamualaikum

Have you ever wondered what is cataphoric and anaphoric? As a English Litereature and Linguistic student, we would like to convey the uses of cataphoric and anaphoric in the essays that you have been writing all these years.

So, what is cataphoric?

A cataphoric reference unit refers to another unit that is introduced latter on in the text/speech. To understand the unit referred to by a cataphoric reference you would need to look ahead in the text/speech. In a much simpler word, cataphoric references take place when the object mentioned after the pronoun. Pronoun is the uses of he, she, it, they, this, that, here, and there.

How about anaphoric?

An anaphoric reference unit, on the other hand, refers to another unit that was introduced earlier on in the text/speech. To understand the unit referred to by an anaphoric reference you would need to look back in the text/speech. So to conclude, anaphoric references take place when the object mentioned after the pronoun.