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Centering is a model of the conversants’ center of attention in discourse that is concerned with the relationship of attentional state, inferential complexity and the form of referring expressions. Centering models discourse processing factors that explain the difference in the perceived coherence of discourses such as (1) and (2) from (Hudson-D’Zmura, 1988):(1) a. Jeff helped Dick wash the car. b. He washed the windows as Dick waxed the car. c. He soaped a pane.(2) a. Jeff helped Dick wash the car. b. He washed the windows as Dick waxed the car. c. He buffed the hood.

The prediction of purely semantic or inferential theories of discourse understanding (cf.(Hobbs, 1985)) is that there should be no difference in coherence between (1) and (2). According to these theories, the agent in (1c), realized by the pronoun he, can only cospecify the discourse entity realized by Jeff because the verb soaping can only be related to the washing event, while the agent in 2c can only cospecify the discourse entity realized by Dick because the verb buffing can only be related to the waxing event.