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Unit5 PREDICATES
Definition: • The PREDICATOR of a simple declarative sentence is the word ( sometime a group of words) which does not belong to any of referring expression and which ,of the remainder, makes the most specific contribution to the meaning of the sentence. Example: • Asleep is the predicator in Mummy is a sleep. • Love is the predicator in The white man loved the Indian maiden. • wait for is the predicator in Jimmy was waiting for downtown bus.
The semantic analysis of simple declarative sentences reveals two major semantic roles : • 1: role of predicator 2: role of arguments played by referring expressions. Example : 1- Juan is Argentinian . predicator: Argentinian argument :Juan 2- Juan arrested Pablo . predicator : arrested argument : Juan , Pablo * Indicate the predicators and arguments as in the above example: 1: Dennis is a menace . Predicator : menace argument : Dennis 2: Donald is proud of his family. Predicator : proud arguments : Donald , his family
A semantic definition of predicate • A predicate is any word (or sequence of words ) which ( in a given single sense) can function as the predicator of a sentence. • Hungry, in , crook , asleep , hit , show , bottle are all predicates and, or, but, not, arenot predicates . • The definition of “predicate” contained two parenthesized conditions : • 1: ( or sequence of word ) is intended to take care of examples like wait for, in front of , which it seems sensible to analyse as single predicates. • 2: ( in a given single sense ) is more important , and illustrates a degree of abstractness in the notion of a predicate. A predicate has one sense: it cannot be ambiguous.
NOTICE: ” predicate” and “predicator” are terms of quite different sorts . • The term “ predicate” identifies elements in the language system , independently of particular example sentences. • The term “ predicator” identifies the semantic role played by a particular word (or group of words ) in a particular sentence.
Example: • A tall, handsome stranger entered the saloon . • This sentence has just onepredicator, enter, but the sentence also contains the words tall, handsome, stranger and saloon, all of which are predicates , and can function as predicators in other sentences e.g. • John is tall, He is handsome, He is a stranger , and That ramshackle building is a saloon.
Finally……. Example: The class is clean. Theclassreferto a real thing in life. The class is clean. 1: not referring object 2: predicator 3: has one sense & doesn’t refer to anything
Degree of a prddicate • Definition: • The degree of a predicate is a number indicating the number of arguments it is normally understood to have in simple sentences. • Sneeze (v.) is a predicate of degree one= a one-place predicate. • Love (v.) is a predicate of degree two= a two-place predicate. • A verb that is understood most naturally with just tow arguments, one as its subject, and one as its object, is a two-place predicate.
There are a few three-place predicates such as give. • Which sentence is acceptable in the following? • 1- John gave. • 2- John gave Mary. • 3- John gave a present. • 4- John gave Mary a present. • In addition to predicates which are verbs, we can have prepositions, nouns and adjectives as one-, two-, or three-place predicates. • Of what degree is the predicate near ? (prep.) • Of what degree is the predicate between? (prep.)
Of what degree is the predicate handsome? (adj.) • Of what degree is the predicate smelly? (adj.) • Of what degree is the predicate different? (adj.) • Of what degree is the predicate similar? (adj.) • Of what degree is the predicate corporal? (n.) • Of what degree is the predicate hero? (n.) • ** Of what degree is the predicate brother? (n.) • Most nouns are one-place predicates except those that are ‘inherently relational’ , such as brother, sister, son, mother, daughter, neighbour.
The identity relation • This special relation is found in equative sentences. The identity of the referents of two different referring expressions is expressed by a form of the verb be. • E.g.: Reagan is the 40th President of the USA. • The 40th President of the USA is Reagan. • Which form of be expresses the identity relation below? • 1- This is a spider. • 2- This is my father. • 3- The whale is a mammal.
Unit6:predicates, referring expressions, and universe of discourse
The distinction between referring expressions and predicates is absolute. Either an expression is used in a given utterance to refer to some entity in the world or it is not so used. • Questions: • Can we use Mohammed Ali and Cairo as predicators? • Can we use hit and on as referring expressions? • However, in particular indefinite noun phrases, some phrases can be used in two ways, either as referring expressions or as predicating expressions, as a man in 1 and 2 below:
1- John attacked a man. • 2- John is a man. • Predicates do not refer but can be used by a hearer when contained in the meaning of a referring expression to identify the referent of that expression. For example, the referring expression ‘the man in the corner’ contains three predicates man, in and corner. The correct referent of such a referring expression is something that is completely fits the description made by the combination of predicates contained in it.
A generic sentence • It is a sentence in which some statement is made about a whole unrestricted class of individuals, as opposed to any particular individual. • The whale is a mammal. (generic) • That whale over there is a mammal. (not generic) * Note that generic sentences may be introduced by a, the (or neither).
Note that the things we can talk about and the things that exist are not exactly the same. However, any expression that can be used to refer to any entity in the real world or any imaginary world will be called a referring expression (e.g. unicorn etc). Additionally, referring expressions not only deal with references to physical objects but also with references to time, number, distance and so on. UNIVERSE OF DISCOURSE refers to any utterance as the particular world, real or imaginary (or part real, part imaginary) that the speaker assumes he is talking about at the time. This notion accounts for the way in which language allows us to refer to non-existent things.
