Volker gast at 14:54, 14 June 2009

2009-06-14T14:54:59Z

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	~~{{stub}}~~		In semantics, a '''predicate''' is concept (property or ''n''-ary relation) that is attributed to a given (set of) [[argument]](s) in a [[predication]]. Constituents with the function of a predicate are called [[predicate terms]]. However, the distinction between 'predicates' and 'predicate terms' is often not made, especially in syntactic research.

	'''~~Predicate~~''' is an ~~expression which takes~~ a [[subject]] to form a [[sentence~~]]. The predicate~~ ascribes a property to the subject.		In [[predicate logic]], a predicate is often represented in (small) capitals followed by its argument(s) in parentheses. For example, the predicate denoted by the word ''man'' can be represented as <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">man</span>, and if the property of being a man is attributed to Fred, this is represented as <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">man</span>(Fred). Alternatively, inverted commas are often used to mark (semantic) predicates as such and to distinguish them from natural language , e.g. man'(Fred). When a predicate takes two arguments (denotes a relation rather than a property), the arguments are usually separated by commas (e.g. <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">like</span>(Fred,Mary) for ''Fred likes Mary''). Put differently, the predicate <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">like</span> takes a pair of entities (rather than a single entity) which functions as an argument of that predicate.

	~~=== Example ===~~		In traditional grammaticography, a predicate combines with a subject to form a sentence, and the ascribes a property to the subject referent (e.g. ''Socrates'' is the subject in the sentence ''Socrates is mortal'' and ''is mortal'' is the predicate).

	''Socrates'' is the subject in the sentence ''Socrates is mortal'' and ''is mortal'' is the predicate~~. In [[predicate logic]], a predicate designates a property or a relation. P in P(a) and R in R(b,c) are called predicates. P in P(a) assigns a property to a and R in R(b,c~~) ~~designates a relation between b and c. The expressions a, b and c are called the [[argument]]s of the predicates P and R~~.

	=== Links ===		=== Links ===

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2009-02-20T10:30:30Z

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'''Predicate''' is an expression which takes a [[subject]] to form a [[sentence]]. The predicate ascribes a property to the subject.

=== Example ===

''Socrates'' is the subject in the sentence ''Socrates is mortal'' and ''is mortal'' is the predicate. In [[predicate logic]], a predicate designates a property or a relation. P in P(a) and R in R(b,c) are called predicates. P in P(a) assigns a property to a and R in R(b,c) designates a relation between b and c. The expressions a, b and c are called the [[argument]]s of the predicates P and R.

=== Links ===

[http://www2.let.uu.nl/UiL-OTS/Lexicon/zoek.pl?lemma=Predicate&lemmacode=423 Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics]

=== References ===

* Gamut, L.T.F. 1991. ''Logic, language, and meaning,'' Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago.

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[[Category:Semantics]]

Predicate - Revision history

Volker gast at 14:54, 14 June 2009

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