A semantics for complement fulfilling conditionals with 'glad'

Abstract

This paper argues that complement fulfilling conditionals with glad are true arguments of the corresponding predicates. For this to be possible, certain standard assumptions about glad have to be revised. I argue that (a) glad is not a factive predicate by itself; and (b) that it doesn’t take propositions as its semantic argument. The main idea is based on an idea implicit in Heim (1992) that can be paraphrased as follows: “There is a hidden ‘because’-clause inevery factive desire report”. The resulting picture allows for a unified account of complement fulfilling and hidden conditionals in desire reports.