Unit 5 Predicates

Shazia Akbar Ghilzai

Department of Linguistics
Quaid-e-Azam University
 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, are not 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 one
predicator, 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.

The class refer to 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 pradicate
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.