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will occur, and the event will not have a beneficial effect. An apology requires that the
speaker believe that some act has occured that is harmful to the hearer.
2. Sincerity conditions. Sincerity conditions relate to the speaker’s state of mind. For a
promise, the speaker must genuinely intend to carry out the future action, and, for a
warning, the speaker genuinely believes that the future event will not have a beneficial
effect. A valid apology requires that the speaker feel remorse for his act.
3. Essential condition. The essential condition requires that the utterance be recognizable
as an instance of the illocutionary act in question. For example, by the act of uttering a
promise, we thereby intend to create an obligation to carry out the action as promised. In
other words, the utterance changes my state from non-obligation to obligation. Similarly,
with a warning, under the essential condition, the utterance changes our state from non-
informing of a bad future event to informing. This essential condition thus combines with
a specification of what must be in the utterance content, the context, and the speaker's
intentions, in order for a specific speech act to be appropriately (felicitously) performed.
4. Propositional content conditions. Propositional content conditions relate to the state of
affairs predicated in the utterance. For example, for both a promise and a warning, the
content of the utterance must be about a future event. A further content condition for a
promise requires that the future event will be a future act of the speaker. A valid apology
must predicate a past act of the speaker.

Felicity conditions on different speech acts
Preparatory Sincerity Essential Propositional
Content
Representa- 1. S believes H 1. S believes p. 1. Counts as an 1. Any p.
tive: assertion doesn’t know P assertion of p.
Directive: 1. S believes H able 1. S wants H to do 1. Counts as 1. Future A of H.
request to do A. A. attempt to get H to
2. A is smth H do A.
would not normally
do
Directive: 1. A doesn’t know 1. S wants to 1. Counts as 1. Any p.
question P. know p. attempt to elicit p
2. P is smth H from H.
would not normally
provide.
Commissive: 1. S believes H 1.S intends to do 1. Counts as 1.Future A of S
promise wants A done. A. obligation to do A.
2.A is smth S would
not normally do.
Expressive: 1. S believes A 1.S feels 1.Counts as 1.Past A of H
thanking benefits S appreciation for A. expression of
appreciation for A.
Declaration: 1. S has authority to 1. S intends to 1. Counts as 1. Name for X.
naming name x. name X. naming of X.

The theory of felicity conditions helps to account for the relationship between
specific illocutionary acts within the same category.