The study of anaphora (from Greek, "carry back") is the study of the ways in which occurrences of certain expressions, particularly pronouns, depend for their interpretations upon the interpretations of occurrences of other expressions. Problems of anaphora are of interest to philosophy and logic because of their intersection with problems of ontology, quantification, and logical form.

Referential Anaphora

Pronouns understood as anaphoric on referential noun phrases are plausibly viewed as referring to the same things as their antecedents. Sentences (1)–(3) permit such readings (coindexing will be used to indicate an intentional anaphoric connection):

1. Jim₁ respects students who argue with him₁.
2. Jim₁ loves his₁ mother.
3. Jim₁ is here. He₁ arrived yesterday. I think he₁'s asleep right now.

We might call these pronouns "referential anaphors."

It is sometimes suggested (see, e.g., Soames 1994) that anaphoric pronouns in such constructions can be understood in a second way. For example, although (2) might...