An antecedent (in French: un antécédent) is the noun appearing before (i.e. preceding) a relative clause and about which the relative clause gives a description.

Note that the antecedent usually directly precedes the relative pronoun (qui, que, où, dont) introducing the relative clause.

For example, in "Je connais la fille que tu regardes." [I know the girl that you are looking at)  the noun fille is the antecedent; it precedes the relative clause "...que tu vois", which in turn offers some information about la fille (the girl).-->>>which girl? the one you are looking at (que tu vois).

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Here are a few sentences with an antecedent (underlined) and a relative clause.

1. L'homme qui arrive est mon prof. / The man who is arriving is my teacher.
2. J'ai vu le film dont tu as parlé. / I watched the movie about which you spoke. 
3. Nous avons le criminel que vous recherchiez. / We have (caught) the criminal you were looking for.
4. Voici la ville où est né mon père. / Here's the town where my father was born)

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