Factivity and Complement‐Types

Abstract

In this paper I argue that the presuppositions associated with factive predicates are triggered not by the predicates themselves, but by their complement clauses. Evidence is brought to bear from different clause types in English, some of which, such as some gerunds and nominalizations, cause the presuppositions to disappear in certain uses of the implicit conditional, or simple subjunctive, construction. I survey the attempt to analyze these facts by assuming that factive predicates trigger presuppositions, that their complement clauses do, and that both do, and find that the thesis that solely the complement clauses are responsible for the presuppositions achieves the maximum explanatory power. This hypothesis has further implications for the nature of presuppositions in general.

Illusion vs Reality: Lexical Presupposition Triggers in the Narrative Tiers of Selected Characters in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

“…Owing to co-occurring with the modal "will", the verb "regret" is labelled "a factive verb", while the verb "discover" is labelled "a semi-factive verb" in the given context. In this regard, Schueler (2016) elaborates on the hypothesis that factive predicates are not the real triggers for presupposition; another element co-occurring with them carries the presupposition.…”