Responsive predicate

In formal semantics a responsive predicate is an embedding predicate which can take either a declarative or an interrogative complement. For instance, the English verb know is responsive as shown by the following examples.


 * 1) Bill knows whether Mary left.
 * 2) Bill knows that Mary left.

Responsives are contrasted with rogatives such as wonder which can only take an interrogative complement and anti-rogatives such as believe which can only take a declarative complement.


 * 1) Bill wonders whether Mary left.
 * 2) *Bill wonders that Mary left.
 * 3) *Bill believes whether Mary left.
 * 4)  Bill believes that Mary left.

Some analyses have derived these distinctions from type compatibility while others explain them in terms of particular properties of the embedding verbs and their complements.