To think that constructions and Japanese towa/nante constructions

Abstract

Abstract English has what is called ‘the to think that construction’, in which the subordinate clause (the to-infinitive clause) is used as if it were an independent clause (e.g., To think that she could be so ruthless!). This paper shows that the to think that construction can be divided into two types depending on the contents of the that clauses: one is the “recall” type, in which the that clauses represent a speaker’s knowledge (i.e., his/her past event or experience); and the other is the “surprise” type, in which the that clauses describe an event at the speech time which the speaker regards as unbelievable. This paper further shows that the “surprise” type of the to think that construction corresponds to the Japanese exclamatory sentence, or the towa/nante construction such as Kodomo-ni anna koto-o iw-are-ru {towa/nante}! ‘(Lit.) That my child should say such a thing!’.