Glossary:Existential Quantifier: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
| Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
==Examples== | ==Examples== | ||
A dog barked. <br/> | '''A dog barked.''' <br/> | ||
∃x (DOG (x) & BARK (x)) <br/> | ∃x (DOG (x) & BARK (x)) <br/> | ||
“There is at least one thing x such that x is a dog and x barked.” <br/> | “There is at least one thing x such that x is a dog and x barked.” <br/> | ||
Some birds were singing. <br/> | '''Some birds were singing.''' <br/> | ||
∃x (BIRD (x) & SING (x)) <br/> | ∃x (BIRD (x) & SING (x)) <br/> | ||
“There is at least one thing x such that x is a bird and x sings.” <br/> | “There is at least one thing x such that x is a bird and x sings.” <br/> | ||
Revision as of 00:36, 24 June 2016
Existential Quantifier
BE /ˌɛgzɪˈstɛnʃəl ˈkwɒntɪfaɪə/, AE /ˌɛgˌzɪˈstɛnʧəl ˈkwɑntɪˌfaɪər/
Definition
The existential quantifier (symbolized by the operator ∃) is used to mean that the statement is true of at least one entity in the domain and stands for expressions with a/an (one), some and there is.
Examples
A dog barked.
∃x (DOG (x) & BARK (x))
“There is at least one thing x such that x is a dog and x barked.”
Some birds were singing.
∃x (BIRD (x) & SING (x))
“There is at least one thing x such that x is a bird and x sings.”
References
- Gregory, Howard. 2000. Semantics. Language Workbook. London/New York: Rutledge.
- Riemer, Nick. 2010. Introducing Semantics. Cambridge [et al.]: Cambridge University Press.
Related Terms
Logical Form Logical Quantifier Logical Symbol Predicate Logic (First-order Predicate Logic) Quantifier Restricted Quantifier Universal Quantifier Variable