Source: https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/antecedent.

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Antecedent
An antecedent is the thing (usually a noun) represented by a pronoun.

Easy Examples of Antecedents

In each example, the pronoun is in bold and its antecedent is shaded.
 Gail said she will be late.
(Gail is the antecedent of the pronoun she.)
 Tell the professor I'll see him tonight.
(The professor is the antecedent of the pronoun him.)
.
In the examples above, the pronouns she and him are both personal pronouns. Spotting
an antecedent gets a little trickier with the other types of pronoun. Here are some
examples:
 Let Mark do the work himself.
(Mark is the antecedent of the emphatic pronoun himself.)
 Where's the whelk which Lee caught?
(The whelk is the antecedent of the relative pronoun which.)
 Jack and Jill love each other.
(Jack and Jill is the antecedent of the reciprocal pronoun each other.)

If there's a pronoun, then there's an antecedent somewhere (usually nearby and to the
left).

Sometimes though, the antecedent is not specifically mentioned.

 Please hide these from Lee.
(The antecedent is not mentioned, but it will be understood from context, e.g.,
the talker might be pointing at some pies.)
 Make sure Mark has some before Lee arrives.
(The antecedent is not mentioned, but it will be understood from context, e.g.,
the talker might be pointing at a cake.)
Sometimes, the antecedent is a concept.
 The clown was riding a bull, juggling five knives and singing Nessun
dorma. That is talent.
Sometimes, the antecedent comes after the pronoun.
 When he is nervous, the professor develops a stammer.
(When an antecedent comes after the pronoun, it's sometimes called
a postcedent.)
Sometimes, the antecedent is another pronoun.
 They hate one another.
(The pronoun they is the antecedent of the reciprocal pronoun one another.)
Sometimes, pronouns share an antecedent.
  I take my wife everywhere, but she keeps finding her way back. (Comedian
Henny Youngman)
(It's not unusual for different types of pronoun to share an antecedent. Note
that a possessive determiner (here, her) is a type of possessive pronoun.)

Why Should I Care about Antecedents?

If the link between your pronoun and its antecedent is unclear, you will – at best – cause
your readers to stall. At worst, they will misinterpret your text. To portray yourself as a
clear thinker, you must ensure the antecedents of your pronouns are obvious.

Below are the two most common ways for the link between a pronoun to its antecedent
to fail. (This is sometimes called a faulty pronoun reference.)

(Antecedent Fail #1) There is no link.

 I want a job in journalism because they make democracy work. 
(The antecedent of they is meant to be journalists, but the word journalists isn't
present. This error occurs when writers' fingers work faster than their brains.
Usually, the meaning is clear, but such an error will do little to portray you as a
clear thinker. A fix? Replace they with journalists.)
 The pie tin was empty because Lee had eaten it. 
(This is a little untidy because the intended antecedent (pie) is an adjective.
Antecedents are meant to be nouns or pronouns, not adjectives. This is quite a
technical error, but it's worth a rewrite. "The tin was empty because Lee had
eaten the pie" is one option.)
 The journalist's article reflects his experience. 
(This is a little untidy because the intended antecedent (the journalist) is in
the possessive case and therefore acting as an adjective. Remember that
antecedents are not meant to adjectives. It's worth a rewrite. "The
journalist reflects his experience in the article" is an option.)
 To deliver oxygen fast to its hard-working muscles, the cheetah's respiratory
tract is enlarged. 
(As a standalone sentence, this is untidy because the intended antecedent
of its (the cheetah) is a possessive-case noun. But, you could make a claim for
the antecedent being in a previous sentence. Don't though. Try to keep each of
your sentences tidy.)
 She can arrange an interview with myself if there's an issue. 
(The antecedent of the reflexive pronoun myself is always I. Here, the
pronoun myself is missing its antecedent. A fix? Replace myself with me.)

(Antecedent Fail #2) The link is ambiguous.

 Jack told John he was depressed.
(This is ambiguous. The antecedent of he could be Jack or John. Note that
neither "Jack told Jill he was depressed" nor "Jack told Jill she was
depressed" is ambiguous.)
  The letter from the bosses to the employees gave details of their annual
bonuses.
(This is ambiguous. Is the antecedent the bosses or the employees? Fix? Spell
it out. Replace their with the bosses'.)
 The icing on the cake was quite intricate, but Lee ate it before the party.
(This is ambiguous. Is the antecedent the icing or the cake? Fix? Spell it out.
Replace it with the icing.)
 The villagers pour any leftover mouldy grapes into a horse trough and crush
the grapes with unwashed feet. The sludge is then mixed with the local
sulphur-rich water. That is why their wine is unpalatable.
(Most people would take the antecedent of That to be the whole process
described, but the antecedent could feasibly be the use of sulphur-rich
water, mouldy grapes, the horse trough, or unwashed feet. If there's doubt,
spell it out. "This whole process is why their wine is unpalatable" is one option.)
 It isn't what they say about you…it's what they whisper. (Actor Errol Flynn)
(This example is not terribly ambiguous, but I have included it to highlight that
the pronouns it, they, and you are commonly used with implied vague
antecedents. Sometimes, it's useful to leave the antecedents as vague, but
sometimes it's worth spelling them out. This could have been rewritten as
"What matters to me isn't what my peers say about me…it's what they
whisper.")
Using it, they, or you with an implied vague antecedent is common in speech, and it's a
pretty efficient way of making a point. It won't portray you as a clear thinker though. In
formal writing, use more direct words.
 It said in the newspaper that a great white shark had been spotted off
Cornwall.
(A possible fix: "According to the newspaper, a great white shark has been
spotted off Cornwall.")
 They reckon it’s going to rain all week.
(A possible fix: "The BBC weather forecast said it was going to rain all week.")
 You can't buy normal lightbulbs these days.
(A possible fix: "Shops don't sell normal lightbulbs these days.")