Pragmatics: Presupposition and entailment Ms. Samira Bakeer, Faculty of Arts, Misurata University

1. Presupposition and Entailment
Two aspects of what is communicated
but not said
Sheet 4, Pragmatics,
2013-2014
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2. When
a speaker uses referring expressions
like this, he or Shakespeare in normal
circumstance, she/he is working with an
assumption that the hearer knows which
referent is intended.
In a more general way, speakers
continuously design their linguistic messages
on the basis of assumptions about what the
hearer already knows. These assumptions
may be mistaken of course, but they underlie
much of what we say in the every day use of
language.
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3.  Presupposition
and entailment describe two
different aspects of information that need not be
stated as speakers assume it is already known by
listeners [these concepts used to be much more
central to pragmatics than they are now, but they are
still important to understand the relationship between
pragmatics and semantics]
 presupposition:
something the speaker assumes
to be the case before making an utterance
 Speakers, not sentences, have presuppositions!! not
the same meaning as in ordinary usage (‘John wrote
Harry a letter, presupposing he could read’)!!
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4. Presupposition
What
speaker assumes as true or is known by
the hearer, can described as presupposition

For example, if someone tell you “ your brother
is waiting outside for you there is an obvious
supposition that you have a brother.

5. 





Entailment: something that logically follows from what is
asserted in the utterance
Sentences, not speakers, have entailments
Example analysis:
Mary's brother bought three horses.
presuppositions: Mary exists, Mary has a brother, Mary has only
one brother, Mary's brother is rich
speaker's subjective presuppositions, all can be wrong

entailments: Mary's brother bought something, bought three
animals, two horses, one horse etc.

entailments follow from the sentence regardless of whether the
speaker's beliefs are right or wrong
[Because of its logical nature, entailment is not generally
discussed as much in contemporary pragmatics as the
 more speaker-dependent notion of presupposition]

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6. Speakers
have presuppositions while
sentences have entailments.
 Example:
 Susan’s
sister bought two houses.
 This
sentence presupposes that Susan exists
and that she has a sister.
 This
sentence has the entailments that Susan’s
sister bought something; now she has 2 houses,
a house, and other similar logical
consequences. The entailments are
communicated without being said and are not
dependent on the speaker’s intention.
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7. Presupposition
is what the speaker
assumes to be the case prior to making an
utterance. Entailment, which is not a
pragmatic concept, is what logically
follows from what is asserted in the
utterance.
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8. Constancy
under negation:
 One
of the tests used to check for the
presuppositions underlying sentences involves
negating a sentence with a particular
presupposition and considering whether the
presupposition remains true
 The
presupposition of a statement will remain
true even when that statement is negated.
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9. When
I say that Debora’ s cat is cute, this
sentence presupposes that Debora has a cat.
In
 Debora’ s cat is not cute. (NOT p)
 the same thing holds true, that is, it
presupposes that she has a cat. This property
of presupposition is generally described as
constancy under negation. Basically, it means
that the presupposition of a statement will
remain constant (i.e. still true) even when
that statement is negated.
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10. 
Take the sentence My car is a wreck. Now take the
negative version of this sentence: My car is not a
wreck. Notice that, although these two sentences
have opposite meanings, the underlying
presupposition, I have a car, remains true in both.
This is called the constancy under negation test for
presupposition. If someone says I want to do it again
and I don't want to do it again both presuppose that
the subject has done it already one or more times,
the presupposition (do again) remains constant even
though the verb want changes from being affirmative
to being negative.
the constancy under negation
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11.  Other
examples of constancy under negation:
 p:
Dave is angry because Jim crashed the car.
 q:
Jim crashed the car
p
>> q
 NOT
p: Dave isn’t angry because Jim crashed
the car
 q:
Jim crashed the car
 NOT
p >> q
Presupposition:
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12.  p:
Mr. Singleton has resumed his habit of
drinking apple juice
 q:
p
Mr. Singleton had a habit of drinking stout.
>> q
 NOT
p: Mr. Singleton hasn’t resumed his habit of
drinking apple juice
 q:
Mr. Singleton had a habit of drinking stout.
 NOT
p >> q
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13. Linguistic forms (words, phrases, structures
are indicators (or triggers) of potential
presuppositions which can only become actual
presuppositions in contexts with speakers.
1. existential
2.factive
3. Non-factive
4.lexical
5. structural
6. counterfactual
Types of Presupposition
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14. 1-Existential presupposition: it is the
assumption of the existence of the entities
named by the speaker.
For example, when a speaker says
"Tom’s car is new", we can presuppose
that Tom exists and that he has a car.

Existential presupposition
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15. 2-Factive
presupposition: it
is the
assumption that something is true due to
the presence of some verbs such as
"know" and "realize" and of phrases
involving “glad”, for example.
Thus, when a speaker says that she didn’t
realize someone was ill, we can
presuppose that “someone is ill”. Also,
when she says "I’m glad it’s over”, we can
presuppose that “ it’s over.”
Factive presupposition
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16. certain verbs/construction indicate that something is a fact
She didn't REALIZE he was ill
 We REGRET telling him
him)
 I WASN'T AWARE that she was married
married)
 It ISN'T ODD that he left early
early)
 I'M GLAD that it's over

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(>> He was ill)
(>> We told
(>> She was
(>> He left
(>> It's over)
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17. 3-Lexical
presupposition: it is the assumption
that, in using one word, the speaker can act
as if another meaning (word) will be
understood. For instance:
 Andrew stopped running. (>>He used to
run.)
 You are late again. (>> You were late
before.)
 In this case, the use of the expressions
"stop" and "again" are taken to presuppose
another (unstated) concept.
Lexical presupposition
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18. The use of a form with its asserted meaning is
conventionally interpreted with the presupposition that
 another, non-asserted, meaning is understood








He MANAGED to repair the clock
(>> he tried to repair the clock)
Asserted meaning: he suceeded
He didn't MANAGE to repair the clock (>> he tried to repair the clock)
Asserted meaning: he failed
He STOPPED smoking
(>> he used to smoke)
They STARTED complained
(>> they weren't complaining before)
You're late AGAIN
(>> You were late before
Lexical Presupposition
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19. 
4-Structural presupposition:

it is the assumption associated with the use of certain words and
phrases. For example, wh-question in English are conventionally
interpreted with the presupposition that the information after the whform (e.g. when and where) is already known to be the case.

When did she travel to the USA?
Where did you buy the book?
When did he leave?
Where did you buy the bike?



( >> she traveled)
(>> you bought the book)
(>> he left)
(>> You bought the bike)
The listener perceives that the information presented is necessarily true
rather than just the presupposition of the person asking the
question.
Structural presupposition
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20. 5
Non- factive presupposition:
it is an
assumption that something is not true.
For example, verbs like "dream", "imagine" and "pretend" are
used with the presupposition that what follows is not true.

I dreamed that I was rich.
We imagined that we were in London.
London)
(>> I am not rich)
(>> We are not in

He PRETENDS to be ill
(>> He is not ill)

Non- factive presupposition
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21. 6-Counterfactual
presupposition:
 it is the assumption that what is presupposed is not only
untrue, but is the opposite of what is true, or contrary to
facts.
 For instance, some conditional structures, generally called
counterfactual conditionals, presuppose that the information,
in the if- clauses, is not true at the time of utterance.
If you were my daughter, I would not allow you to do this. ( >
you are not my daughter)
Counterfactual presupposition
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22. SUMMARY
Type






Example
Presupposition
existential
the X
factive
I regret leaving
non-factive
He pretended to be happy
lexical
He managed to escape
structural
When did she die?
Counterfactual
If I weren't ill
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>> X exists
>> I left
>> He wasn't happy
>> He tried to escape
>> She died
>> I am ill
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23. Entailment
In
pragmatics
entailment
is
the
relationship between two sentences where
the truth of one (A) requires the truth of
the other (B).
For example, the sentence (A) The
president was assassinated. entails (B)
The president is dead.
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24. Generally
speaking, entailment is not a
pragmatic concept (i.e. having to do with the
speaker meaning), but it is considered a
purely logical concept.
Observe the examples below:
1)Bob ate three sandwiches.
a) Something ate three sandwiches.
b)Bob did something to three sandwiches.
c) Bob ate three of something.
d)Something happened.
Ordered entailments
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25. When
a speaker utters sentence 1, the
speaker is necessarily committed to the truth
of a very large number of background
knowledge.
On any occasion, in uttering 1, however, the
speaker will indicate how these entailments
are to be ordered. That is, the speaker will
communicate, typically by stress, which
entailment is assumed to be the foreground,
or more important for interpreting intended
meaning, than any others.
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26. For
example, when the speaker utters the
following sentences, she indicates that the
foreground entailment, and hence her
main assumption, is that Bob ate a certain
number of sandwiches.
a) Bob ate THREE sandwiches.
b) BOB ate three sandwiches.
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27. In
B, the focus shifts to BOB, and the
main assumption is that someone ate
three sandwiches. The stress in English
functions to mark the main assumption of
the speaker in producing an utterance. As
such, it allows the speaker to mark for the
listener what the focus of the message is,
and what is being assumed.
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28. Cleft construction

A very similar function is exhibited by a structure called cleft
construction in English, as we can observe in the example
below:
a) It was VICTOR that did the work.
b) It wasn’t ME who took your jacket.

In both examples above, the speaker can communicate what
she believes the listener may already be thinking (i.e. the
foreground entailment). In b, that foreground entailment
(someone took your jacket) is being made in order to deny
personal responsibility. The utterance in b can be used to
attribute the foreground entailment to the listener(s) without
actually stating it (as a possible accusation).
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29. Entailments
are typically not preserved
under negation.
Entailment and negation

30. Consider:
Vincent does not have a red car.
This
does not entail:
Vincent has a car.
Entailment

31. We
call implications preserved under
negation presuppositions
We call implications not preserved under
negation entailments
Entailment or presupposition

32. In
English, presuppositions are usually
triggered by lexical items
There are several tricks to find out
whether a lexical item is a presupposition
trigger or not
These tests are:
◦ The negation test
◦ The conditional test
◦ The question test
Presupposition triggers

33. Consider
the sentence:
Alex is a bachelor.
This
sentence implies that Alex is male.
But are we dealing with a presupposition
or entailment?
Presupposition trigger test

34. Alex
is a bachelor.
Does this presuppose: Alex is male?
Negation:
Alex is not a bachelor.
Implies: Alex is male? YES
Conditional: If Alex is a bachelor, then ...
Implies: Alex is male? YES
Question: Is Alex is a bachelor?
Implies: Alex is male? YES
Conclusion:
being a bachelor presupposes being male.
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35. Consider
the sentence:
Alex is a man.
This
sentence implies that Alex is male.
But are we dealing with a presupposition
or entailment?
Presupposition trigger test

36.  Alex
is a man.
Does this presuppose: Alex is male?
 Negation:
Alex is not a man.
Implies: Alex is male? NO
 Conditional: If Alex is a man, then ...
Implies: Alex is male? NO
 Question: Is Alex is a man?
Implies: Alex is male? NO
 Conclusion:
being a man does not presuppose being male.
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37. Consider
the sentence:
Butch knows that Zed is dead.
This
sentence implies Zed is dead.
But are we dealing with a presupposition
or entailment?
Presupposition trigger test

38.  Butch
knows that Zed is dead.
Does this presuppose: Zed is dead?
 Negation:
Butch does not know that Zed is dead.
Implies: Zed is dead? YES
 Conditional: If Butch knows that Zed is dead,
then ...
Implies: Zed is dead? YES
 Question: Does Butch know that Zed is dead?
Implies: Zed is dead? YES
 Conclusion:
knowing P presupposes P.
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39. Analyse the following utterances in
terms of presuppositions:
I regret the year of prosperity and peace
has ended.
The UN managed to bring about peace.
A time of prosperity and peace will return.
What the UN did was to bring about peace
in Bosnia.
1996, which was a year of prosperity and
peace, will be remembered forever.
TASKS

40. Identify the respective presuppositions and classify them according to type

1 John didn’t realize that he was in debt

2 Before Strawson was even born, Frege noticed presuppositions

3 If Hannibal had only had twelve more elephants, the Romance languages
wouldn’t exist now

4 John didn’t see the man with two heads

5 Carter returned to power

6 It wasn’t Henry that kissed Rosie

7 Fred hallucinated that he had won a billion Dollars

8 Agatha accused Ian of plagiarism
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