Abstract For a series of thirty-five novel diphenyl 1-phenylamino-1- phenylmethanephosphonates, substituted in the meta and para positions on the anilino and/or aryl ring, 31P chemical shifts show a good linear correlation with Hammett σn and Taft σ° parameters, the 31P nucleus being better shielded in the case of electron withdrawing substituents. The same pattern is observed for the phosphonate anions, ...