Counterfactual Conditionals of Regret in Cantonese

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Abstract This study explores the counterfactual conditional of regret (CCR) in Cantonese, a construction marked by 早知(道) zou2zi1(dou3) ‘[lit. early know]’ and expressing regret over a remedy that could have been undertaken in the past. First, 早知(道) zou2zi1(dou3) is argued to be grammaticalizing from a verb to subordinator, with the shorter form 早知 zou2zi1 more commonly used as a CCR marker. Second, the properties of 早知(道) zou2zi1(dou3), its complement and the apodosis are discussed. Third, CCR s with non-canonical structures are explored. Finally, some implications for the status of counterfactuals in Chinese and hypothesized relativity effects are discussed.