Binding theory states the principles which describe how one noun or pronoun may determine the reference of another in the same context. For example, in the sentence
- "James thinks Scrappy likes him"
the pronoun "him" cannot refer to Scrappy.
Another example: In
- "He likes Steven."
- "He remembers that Kanzi likes Steven."
The noun phrase given by the pronoun "He" is fully referential; that is, it cannot be bound any local or non-local phrases (such as the phrase "Steven" in both sentences).
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