We usually make a distinction between introducing new referents (a puppy) and referring back to them (the puppy, it).

We saw a funny home video about a boy washing a puppy in a small bath. The puppy started struggling and shaking and the boy got really wet. When he let go, it jumped out of the bath and ran away

We saw a funny home video about a boy washing a puppy in a small bath. The puppy started struggling and shaking and the boy got really wet. When he let go, it jumped out of the bath and ran away

In this type of referential relationship, the second (or subsequent) referring expression is an example of anaphora (“referring back”). The first mention is called the antecedent. So, in our example, a boy, a puppy and a small bath are antecedents and The puppy, the boy, he, it and the bath are anaphoric expressions.

Anaphora can be defined as subsequent reference to an already introduced entity. Mostly we use anaphora in texts to maintain reference. The connection between an antecedent and an anaphoric expression is created by use of a pronoun (it), or a phrase with the plus the antecedent noun (the puppy), or another noun that is related to the antecedent in some way (The little dog ran out of the room). The connection between antecedents and anaphoric expressions is often based on inference, as in these examples.

We found a house to rent, but the kitchen was very small.

I caught a bus and asked the driver if it went near the downtown area.

In the first example, we must make an inference like “if X is a house, then X has a kitchen” in order to interpret the connection between antecedent a house and anaphoric expression the kitchen. In the second example, we must make an inference like “if X is a bus, then X has a driver” in order to make the connection between a bus and the driver.

We have used the term “inference” here to describe what the listener (or reader) does. When we talk about an assumption made by the speaker (or writer), we usually talk about a “presupposition.”