Exercise Presuppositions: Difference between revisions

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|| If this can be inferred at all, it would be an implicature.
|| If this can be inferred at all, it would be an implicature.


{ I want more milk for my tea!
|type="[]"}
- I hate tea with milk.
|| This is not an inference of the given sentence at all.
+ I am having tea.
|| A presupposition because it follows from the negation of the sentence as well: (''I don't want more milk for my tea'' +> ''I am having tea.'')
+ Someone has already put milk in his/her tea.
|| This presupposition is triggered by ''more''.
- I do not like my tea with the amount of milk that is currently in the tea.
|| This is an implicature.
{ Alex's wife has called.
|type = "[]"}
+ Alex is married.
|| Negation test: The inference also holds for ''Alex's wife hasn't called.''
- Alex is male.
|| This is an implicature based on heuristic world knowledge that in most cases, the spouse of a woman is a man.
- Alex's wife has called the speaker.
|| This is an implicature, as we can only guess who was called from the context.
+ There exists a married woman.
</quiz>
===Presupposition or entailment?===


<quiz display=simple>


{ I want more milk for my tea!
{Is the '''B''' sentence a presupposition or an entailment of the '''A''' sentence?
|type="()"}
|type="()"}
+ Done
| presupposition | entailment
|| The utterance "I want more milk for my tea!" has the following presuppostions:
+- '''A''': Where is the man with the megaphone? '''B''': There is a man with a megaphone.
|| # Someone is having tea.
|| Questions never have entailments, only assertions do. Also: A definite NP presupposes the existence (and uniqueness) of an individual with the described property.
|| # Someone has already put milk in his/her tea.
-+ '''A''': At least three students solved the problem. '''B''': At least two students solved the problem.
|| # This person doesn't like his/her tea with the amount of milk that is currently in the tea.
|| The inference disappears if we negate '''A''', i.e., ''It is not true that at least three students solved the problem.'' does not allow us to infer '''B'''.
|| # He/She prefers more milk in his/her tea.
+- '''A''': The Queen of England attended a cooking workshop. '''B''': There is a queen of England.
|| Negation test: The '''B''' sentence can also be inferred from the negation of the '''A''' sentence (''The Queen of England did not attend a cooking workshop.''). Also: A definite NP has an existential presupposition.
-+ '''A''': My dog Richard was killed in a car accident. '''B''': My dog Richard is dead.
|| The negation test does not work here: The negation of '''A''' (''My dog Richard was not killed in a car accident.'') does not allow us to infer '''B'''. However, '''B''' is not cancellable: We cannot, without creating a contradiction, continue '''A''' by ''but, in fact, Richard isn't dead.''
</quiz>
 
===Types of presuppositions===
 
 
<quiz display=simple>
 
{The sentences in '''A''' presuppose the sentence '''B'''. Determine the type of presupposition.
|type="[]"}
| existential | factive | lexical | structural | non-factive | counterfactual
+----- '''A''': The fair boy shook his head. '''B''': There is a boy who is fair.
|| Definite NPs make an existential presupposition.
--+--- '''A''': I stopped eating meat. '''B''': I used to eat meat
|| The presupposition trigger is the word ''stop''.
---+-- '''A''': What movie did you end up watching last friday? '''B''': The addressee watched a movie last friday.
|| Wh-questions presuppose that there is an instance of what is being asked for.
--+-+- '''A''': I wish I wouldn't have eaten these delicious fries with extra ketchup, now I have to get changed. '''B''': The speaker has eaten these delicious fries with extra ketchup.
|| ''wish'' presupposes the non-factivity of its complement.
---+-+ '''A''': If I would not have eaten so much over the holidays I would still fit my favorite jeans. '''B''': The speaker has eaten so much over the holidays.
|| The counterfactual ''if'' clause structurally triggers that the negation of the proposition in the ''if'' clause is presupposed.
-++--- '''A''': Alex knew that Chris didn't call. '''B''': Chris didn't call.
|| ''know'' is a factive verb, i.e., the truth of its complement is presupposed.
---+-- '''A''': It was in the opera that I have lost my glasses. '''B''': I have lost my glasses somewhere.
|| In an''it''-cleft the truth of the ''that''-clause is structurally presupposed.


</quiz>
</quiz>

Latest revision as of 14:47, 14 November 2013

The following material is an adapted form of material created by student participants of the project e-Learning Resources for Semantics (e-LRS).
Involved participants: Katharina, Caterina, Daniela, Eva

Presuppositions

The following sentences make certain presuppositions. Indicate which of the given candidate inferences are presuppositions?

1 Would you mind washing up the dishes this time?

There are dishes that need to be washed up.
I do not have time to do the dishes.
The dishes needed to be washed up before.
Someone didn't wash up the dishes the last time they needed to be washed up.

2 I want more milk for my tea!

I hate tea with milk.
I am having tea.
Someone has already put milk in his/her tea.
I do not like my tea with the amount of milk that is currently in the tea.

3 Alex's wife has called.

Alex is married.
Alex is male.
Alex's wife has called the speaker.
There exists a married woman.


Presupposition or entailment?

Is the B sentence a presupposition or an entailment of the A sentence?

presupposition entailment
A: Where is the man with the megaphone? B: There is a man with a megaphone.
A: At least three students solved the problem. B: At least two students solved the problem.
A: The Queen of England attended a cooking workshop. B: There is a queen of England.
A: My dog Richard was killed in a car accident. B: My dog Richard is dead.


Types of presuppositions

The sentences in A presuppose the sentence B. Determine the type of presupposition.

existential factive lexical structural non-factive counterfactual
A: The fair boy shook his head. B: There is a boy who is fair.
A: I stopped eating meat. B: I used to eat meat
A: What movie did you end up watching last friday? B: The addressee watched a movie last friday.
A: I wish I wouldn't have eaten these delicious fries with extra ketchup, now I have to get changed. B: The speaker has eaten these delicious fries with extra ketchup.
A: If I would not have eaten so much over the holidays I would still fit my favorite jeans. B: The speaker has eaten so much over the holidays.
A: Alex knew that Chris didn't call. B: Chris didn't call.
A: It was in the opera that I have lost my glasses. B: I have lost my glasses somewhere.


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