Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Proposition

Definition: 

A proposition is that part of the meaning of a clause or sentence that is constant, despite changes in such things as the voice or illocutionary force of the clause.

A proposition may be related to other units of its kind through interpropositional relations, such as temporal relations and logical relations.

Discussion: 

The meaning of the term proposition is extended by some analysts to include the meaning content of units within the clause.

Example: The tall, stately building fell is said to express propositions corresponding to the following:

  • "The building is tall."
  • "The building is stately."
  • "The building fell."
Examples: 

(English)

The common content of each of the the following utterances is a proposition:

  • Alec ate the banana.
  • The banana was eaten by Alec.
  • Did Alec eat the banana?
  • Alec, eat the banana.

All these utterances may be analyzed as consisting of a predicate naming an event or state and one or more arguments naming referents that participate in that event or state.

  • The activity is eat.
  • The agent is Alec.
  • The patient is a banana.