2000/04/01 by Sabine Iatridou · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · #Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation #Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies #Linguistics and Discourse Analysis
paper · doi:10.1162/002438900554352
openalex publication_date 2000/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/03
Counterfactual constructions convey the meaning that the speaker believes a certain proposition not to hold. This article investigates the morphosyntactic composition of counterfactual conditionals and counterfactual wishes and the question of how the form of counterfactuals is related to their meaning. Across languages, there are combinations of tense, mood, and aspect morphemes that are used repeatedly in the expression of counterfactuality. I discuss the role of all three components.