You are on page 1of 3

Analytic/Contradictory/Synthetic Sentences

Analytic sentences are sentences which


automatically express true propositions in any
context, by virtue of the meanings of their
constituent words and their arrangement.
- Bachelors are unmarried.
- John’s uncle is a man.
- This proposition is either true or false.
- A square has four right angles.
Contradictory sentences are just the opposite of
analytic sentences. While contradictory
sentences are necessarily false for the same
reason.
- A bachelor is a married man.
- A blue gas is colorless.
- A square has five equal sides.
Synthetic sentences: sentences that may be true
or false depending upon how the world is are
called synthetic. Synthetic sentences are not
true or false because of the words that comprise
them, but rather because they do or do not
accurately describe some state of affairs in the
world.
- My next door neighbour, Bud Brown, is

1
married.
- Waldo’s living room has four right angles.
Practice:
1. John’s sister is married. - Synthetic
2. This paint is green - Synthetic
3. All dogs are brown. - Contradictory
4. John’s sister is a man. - Contradictory
5. This red paint is green - Contradictory
6. Bachelors are married. - Contradictory /
Generic
7. Ringing bells did not annoy him. -
Ambiguous / Generic
8. Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam. - Equative
9. They can fish. - Ambiguous / Synthetic
10. A tiger is solitary hunter. Generic /
Synthetic
11. The tiger was able to escape the hunters -
Synthetic
12. The tiger is a feline. - Analytic / Generic
13. A paper tiger is a person who claims to be
dangerous or threatening but is not really
so.
Literal meaning - Contradictory
Figurative - Analytic
Reference - Generic / Synthetic

2
14. Paper tigers are not made of paper. -
Contradictory / Analytic / G S
15. The tiger that killed the cows was a paper
one. - C
16. The tiger may die out in the near future. -
G+S
17. Tigers mainly live in Asia. - G / S

You might also like