Source: p 177, French prepositions à and de in infinitival complements, A pragma-semantic analysis (2008) by Lidia Fraczak, as part of Adpositions ; Pragmatic, semantic and syntactic perspectives (2008) edited by D Kurzon, S Adler
The use of envisager de (“to consider”) does not seem, as with essayer de (“to try”), to be conditioned by a situational presupposition either, in spite of the presence of the preposition de. In the following sentence:
(6) Paul envisage de déménager. ‘Paul is considering moving out.’
the speaker informs the addressee about Paul’s (possible) plan, without calling on any presupposed information about it, whereas such a presupposition might be necessary with the use of hésiter à (“to hesitate”):
(7) Paul hésite à déménager. ‘Paul is hesitating about moving out.’
I do not understand the (bolded) first sentence above. How does envisager de presuppose nothing situational? Surely, it must presuppose the (mental) ability to envisagement?
