Fact ¹

The object of this paper is to explore the interrelationship of syntax and semantics in the English complement system. Our thesis is that the choice of complement type is in large measure predictable from a number of basic semantic factors. Among these we single out for special attention presupposition by the speaker that the complement of the sentence expresses a true proposition. It will be shown that whether the speaker presupposes the truth of a complement contributes in several important ways to determining the syntactic form in which the complement can appear in the surface structure. A possible explanation for these observations will be suggested.

¹ This work was supported in part by the U.S. Air Force (ESD Contract AFi9(628)-2487) and the National Institutes of Health (Grant MH-13390-01). It is reprinted from M. Bier-wisch and K. Heidolph (eds.), Progress in Linguistics, The Hague: Mouton, 1970.

This paper developed through several revisions out of a paper read in 1967 at Bucharest. These revisions were largely prompted by helpful discussions with many colleagues, among whom we would especially like to thank John Kimball, George Lakoff, Robin Lakoff, Haj Ross, and Timothy Shopen.