Pronominals and Anaphors in the English Sentences: A Binding Theory Approach

Abstract

This paper studies the relationship between the pronominals and anaphors in the English sentences using the binding theory. It looks at the stand of the government and binding (GB) theory in the construction of grammatical structures and their interpretations. It also x-rayed the basic principles of the GB theory (precedence, dominance, and governing categories) using the tree diagram. The basic objective of this study is to show how the binding theory determines the formation of pronominals and the anaphors; also to show how ungrammatical sentences can result from faulty use of the binding principles. It concludes by noting that the semantic interpretation of the relationship between anaphors and the pronominals is determined by the binding conditions.