> Amazon is obviously one of the most productive companies to have ever existed. Strictly speaking, I don't think this is a counterfactual. A counterfactual is

> Amazon is obviously one of the most productive companies to have ever existed. Strictly speaking, I don't think this is a counterfactual. A counterfactual is a figure of speech that considers a situation wherein the facts are different than they really are. For example, "If I were you, I'd quit." This is a counterfactual, because I am not you, but if I _were_, then so-and-so would be the case. Google gives the example, "If kangaroos had no tails, they would topple over."