> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://glossary.ecsa.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://glossary.ecsa.io/co-reference.md).

# Co-reference

Co-reference signals the referential relationships between utterances. It is the way discourses \[a.k.a. [Performance](/performance.md)s i.e. series of events that follow each other] are formed: it creates the social history of discourse. [Metapragmatic grammar](/metapragmatic-grammar.md) is co-referential. It allows you to link one speech event to another. Co-reference builds upon the flow of indexical time through a past, present, and future. Each utterance signals its relationship to previous discourse through the rhythm of a [Discourse](/discourse.md) (the poetic function of meter) and through co-reference.