Theoretical Orientation

Abstract The theoretical approach underlying my treatment of the possessive is cognitive grammar, as this has been developed by Ronald Langacker and others. In this book, besides presenting a cognitive grammar analysis of the possessive, I also undertake a confrontation of the cognitive grammar approach with some alternatives, in particular, those that have been pursued within the generative, and more recently, the government and binding (GB) paradigm, and its newest progeny, principles and parameters. The aim will be to show that cognitive grammar can offer a more economical, and more insightful account of the English possessive than these theoretical alternatives.