Ebook: The Factive-reported Distinction in English

This study provides a cognitive-functional account of the factive presupposition in English.

It aims to elucidate the semantics of factive complementation constructions by probing three central questions: (i) how do we explain the semantic relation between the factive complement clause and particular semantic classes of complement-taking predicates? (ii) can factive complements contain speaker-related markers of modal positioning, and if so, do these relate to the current or represented speaker-hearer interaction? (iii) how can we account for seemingly conflicting combinations of so-called factive predicates with non-factive constructional alternates? These three questions are integrated into an account that highlights the interrelations between the representational semantics of the main clause, the interpersonal semantics of the complement clause, and the coercive potential of constructional combinations. As such, the study aims to complement the dominant formal pragmatic and formal syntactic theories on factivity.