Presuppositions · Pattern 6 of 9
Time
Words and tenses that locate events in time presuppose sequence, duration, repetition, change or stability.
What it is
"I still get nervous" presupposes it has been going on and continues. "Your old problem" presupposes it belongs to the past. Absolutes such as always and every time presuppose a rule with no exceptions — usually the most useful place to look.
Recognition / tip-offs
What is being presupposed
- The event repeats, continues, or has ended
- An absolute holds with no exceptions
- One thing happened before or after another
Client-language use
"It always happens." "I'll never get over it." Check the absolutes: exceptions are data, and they are usually there.
How to challenge it
Test absolutes for exceptions and explore the timeline the sentence assumes.
- “Always? Has there ever been a time it didn't?”
- “Never — not once?”
- “When did it start? What was happening just before?”
- “What tells you it's still true today?”
Practitioner judgement: challenge what is useful, not every pattern you can hear.
Purposeful practitioner use
"Your old pattern" or "how is it different now?" presupposes movement without asserting a result. Future-oriented wording invites an internal representation of change: "When you look back on this in a few months…" Keep it invitational.
Client autonomy first — offer language the client can verify and decline.
Examples
“I always freeze in meetings.”
Presupposed The freezing is repeated and without exception.
Challenge: “Always? Was there ever a meeting where you didn't?”
“I still can't talk to my father.”
Presupposed It has been the case for some time and continues; also Possibility.
Challenge: “What would need to change for 'still' to become 'used to'?”
“How is it different now, compared with your old way of handling it?”
Presupposed There is a difference, and the old way is in the past.
Common mistakes
- Letting always / never pass unchecked
- Reading tense changes as grammar rather than as a presupposition about change
- Promising a future outcome instead of inviting a representation of it
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