Resumptive pronouns in English are found in relative constructions where gaps are supposed to take the place. If a construction has two or more forms in free variation from the point of view of truth-conditional semantics, it is worthwhile investigating whether there are pragmatic differences. Based on Prince (1990, 1995)’s observations, we will show the pragmatic meaning difference between the gap-containing structure and the pronoun-containing structure. We will also show that the reconstruction based on movement theory does not suffice to explain the distribution. Then we will suggest that resumption is the last resort strategy at PF which needs reference-set computation against the suggestion of Aoun, Choueiri & Hornstein (2001) which is based on Binding. In the following chapter, many instances of resumptive pronouns will be presented, showing that there is not insignificant meaning difference between the gap-containing structure and the pronoun-containing structure. In chapter 2, the proposals of reconstruction will be critically surveyed. In chapter 3, the resumption as the last resort strategy will be suggested. Chapter 4 concludes the paper.
1. Distribution of resumptive pronouns
2. Reconstruction based on Movement
3. Resumption as The Last Resort at PF
4. Conclusion