Sometimes a pronoun appears before the name it points to. Cataphora is the use of an expression that refers forward to a later element in the discourse, as in When she entered, Maria saw the crowd.

Writers use cataphora to delay identification, create suspense, or manage information flow. It is less common than anaphora in casual speech but frequent in certain literary and journalistic styles. Listeners must hold an unspecified referent until the antecedent arrives.

Languages differ in how freely they allow forward reference. Discourse analysts track both anaphoric and cataphoric chains. Clear cataphora rewards the reader; poorly handled forward reference produces confusion.

• Forward reference to a later element
• Less common than anaphora
• Used for suspense and information structure
• Requires a subsequent antecedent