Parallel function strategy in pronoun assignment.

Subjects completed sentences of the form NPl aux V NP2 because (but) Pro . . . (e.g., John may scold Bill because he . ..) with a reason or motive for the action described. A basic perceptual strategy was hbpothesized to underlie the comprehension of these sentences which have a potentially ambiguous pronoun in the subject position of the subordinate clause. It was expected that listeners would interpret the pronoun as being coreferential with the subject NP of the main clause, the NP with the same grammatical function. While this strategy accounted for the major share of the results, semantic factors restricted its use, establishing an interpretation in which the pronoun was coreferential with the object NP of the main clause.