There is broad consensus that the complement-selection regularities of surprise-predicates are grounded in semantics or pragmatics, including procedural factors, rather than syntax.

Evidence (1)

Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Internal form: verb position, complementizer choice, and discourse particles

there is a broad consensus that combinatorial regularities are rooted in semantics or pragmatics, including procedural considerations, but not in syntax

https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-4-p6

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