which consist of certain principles and conditions (parameters) Some of
the subtheories are:
1 binding theory: shows the reference relationship between noun
phrases
2 bounding theory: places restrictions on movement within a sentence
3 case theory: assigns cases to the noun phrases in the sentence
4 q-theory: assigns semantic roles to the elements in the sentence
5 x-bar theory: describes the structure of phrases
Some aspects of the Government/Binding Theory and its subtheories have
been used in research into first and second language acquisition (see, for
example, adjacency parameter, pro-drop parameter).
see also projection (principle)governor n
(in government/binding theory) an element in a sentence which gov-
erns, that is has an influence on, another element. Everything that can be the
headof a phrase can function as a governor, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives
and prepositions.
gradable adj gradability n
(of objects, people, ideas, etc.) having a certain property to a greater or
lesser degree. In English, this property is usually expressed by an adjective,
e.g. hot, cold, rich, poor.
For example:
Was it really as cold last night as Thursday night?
Your plate is hotter than mine.
Usually, a comparison is implied, even if it is not expressed. It’s hot in here,
means “compared with outside” or “compared with the room temperature
which suits me”.
Adjectives which refer to something which can be described in degrees are
known as gradable adjectives. The negation of a gradable adjective does not
necessarily imply the opposite. For example, not hot does not necessarily
mean cold, nor does not rich necessarily mean poor.
see also antonym
gradable adjective n
see gradable
gradable pair n
see antonym
governor