CATEGORICAL PROPOSITIONS

Recall that propositions are building blocks of every reasoning/argument. And categorical propositions
are the building blocks or constituents of a categorical syllogism; the fundamental form of argument used
in human reasoning. Logical reasoning is concerned with constructing arguments, analyzing the structure
of arguments and evaluating them to check whether they are valid or invalid. All arguments are built with
propositions. Categorical proposition is a proposition that relates two classes or categories.

A proposition carries a subject term, a predicate term and a copula.

Ex: Good web pages are written in html.

Astronomical objects do not have fur.
Human beings are mortal.

A categorical proposition is a proposition that asserts or denies that all or some of the members of one
category (the subject term) are included in another (the predicate term). The study of arguments using
categorical statements (i.e., syllogisms) forms an important branch of deductive reasoning.

Parts of a categorical proposition:

1. Quantifier - is a word like "all", "no", or "some" that indicates the quantity or scope of the subject
term, specifying whether the statement applies to every member of a class, none of them, or just a
portion of them.
2. Subject term - This is the main topic or group being discussed in the proposition.
3. Copula - This is the verb that connects the subject and predicate, usually "is", "are", “is not” or “are
not”.
4. Predicate term - This describes the attribute or characteristic being ascribed to the subject.

Examples:

Quantifier Subject Term Copula Predicate Term

All nurses are medical practitioners.

No doctor is illiterate.

Some doctors are nurses.

dating on Valentines
Some students are not
Day.

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Types of Categorical Propositions:
There are four types of categorical propositions, which are named based on the quantity and quality of
the proposition.

1. Universal Affirmative [A]

• A universal affirmative proposition is a statement that claims all members of one class are
also members of another class.
• Pattern: All S are P.
Examples: All nurses are medical practitioners.
All healthcare providers are prioritizing patient safety.
Every human is mortal.

2. Universal Negative [E]

• A universal negative proposition is a statement in logic that denies a predicate about every
member of a subject class, essentially claiming that "no" members of one category belong to
another category; it is considered a universal proposition because it makes a claim about all
members of a group, and "negative" because it is a denial rather than an affirmation.
• Pattern: No S is P.
Examples: No healthcare facility should ignore a patient's informed refusal of treatment.
All unlicensed personnel cannot administer medications independently.
Every registered nurse is not allowed to practice medicine without a
collaborative agreement with a physician.

3. Particular Affirmative [I]

• A particular affirmative proposition is a type of categorical proposition that states that
some members of one category are also members of another category.
• Pattern: Some S are P.
Examples: Some patients are anxious before surgery.
Some doctors are nurses.
Some fruits are apples.

4. Particular Negative [O]

• A particular negative proposition is a statement that says some members of a subject are
not in a predicate.
• Pattern: Some S are not P.
Examples: Some students are not dating on Valentines Day.
Some medical practitioners are not doctors.
Some fruits are not apples.

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NON-CATEGORICAL & CATEGORICAL PROPOSITIONS

Proposition is essentially a declarative sentence. Non-categorical propositions are also declarative

sentences that do not use copula.

Examples: All normal people have two eyes.

Some nursing students did not go to sleep last night.
Some students can learn logic.

But we can translate these propositions into standard form of a categorical proposition.

Non-categorical: All normal people have two eyes.

Categorical: All normal people are having two eyes.

Non-categorical: Some nursing students did not go to sleep last night.

Categorical: Some nursing students were not sleeping last night.

Non-categorical: Some students can learn logic.

Categorical: Some students are capable of learning logic.

Non-categorical: Not all medical practitioners are doctors.

Categorical: Some medical practitioners are not doctors.

TRANSLATING CATEGORICAL PROPOSITIONS WHOSE QUANTITIES ARE INDICATED BY WORDS

OTHER THAN THE STANDARD FORM QUANTIFIERS “ALL” “NO” & “SOME”

Many times, statements begin with quantity designators other than the quantifiers or the quantity
designators are not specified at all. The former cases require us to examine the statement in proper
context and then rephrase the quantity designator. However, in the latter case the quantity designator is
missing and we ought to provide it in terms of standard form.

Statements beginning with ‘every’ ‘any’ ‘everything’ ‘anything’ (without any negation) are
translated as A propositions in the following manner:

Original Statement: Every person has his day.

Standard Form: All persons are beings who have their days.

Original Statement: Any day of the week is convenient.

Standard Form: All days of the week are convenient days.

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 Original Statement: Everything in this room is expensive.

Standard Form: All things in this room are expensive things.

Original Statement: Anything comes at a cost.

Standard Form: All things are entities that come at a cost.

There are also propositions that use words like whoever, everyone, anyone, whosoever, who and
others. They can also be translated as A propositions.

Original Statement: Whoever votes, is a good citizen.

Standard Form: All people who vote are good citizens.

Original Statement: Anyone who goes to the party would be implicated.

Standard Form: All who go to the party are those who are implicated.

Original Statement: Everyone who votes is above 17 years of age.

Standard Form: All people who vote are above 17 years of age.

Indefinite articles ‘a’ or ‘an’, ‘the’ are also used to designate quantity. Although they do not clearly state
quantity represented by them but when we examine the statement in its context, depending on the
meaning, it is either translated as A or I proposition. Let us first consider examples of propositions
which can be reasonably interpreted as universal propositions:

Original Statement: A rose is a flower.

Standard Form: All roses are flowers.

Original Statement: An angel is a spiritual being.

Standard Form: All angels are spiritual beings.

Original Statement: The snake is a reptile.

Standard Form: All snakes are reptiles.

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 There are propositions carrying ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ where the standard form translation is done to
particular propositions. They often translate to "particular" propositions, meaning they only claim
something about "some" members of a class, rather than all of them.

Original Statement: A dog is barking.

Standard Form: Some dogs are barking.

A" indicates singularity: The indefinite article "a" suggests that the statement is only referring to one
instance of a dog, not all dogs, making it a particular proposition.

Original Statement: The frog in the left corridor is green.

Standard Form: Some frogs in the left corridor are green.

Original Statement: An apple is a fruit.

Standard Form: Some apples are fruits.

Let us also discuss examples of propositions beginning with ‘not every’ and ‘not any.’ In case of ‘not
every’ the proposition is translated as particular negative and ‘not any’ is translated as universal negative.

Examples:

Original Statement: Not every dog is friendly.

Standard Form: Some dogs are not friendly.

Original Statement: Not any student is full-time employed.

Standard Form: No students are full-time employed.

Words like ‘hardly’, ‘rarely’, ‘seldom’, ‘scarcely’, ‘little’, ‘not always’, ‘not everywhere’, ‘sometimes not’ are
indicators of particular negative propositions. But the words like ‘never’, ‘nowhere’, ‘under no
circumstances’ indicate universal negative propositions.

Examples:

Original Statement: Hardly any students finished the challenging exam.

Standard Form: Some students are not finishing the challenging exam.

Original Statement: Politicians are rarely prompt in keeping their appointments.

Standard Form: Some politicians are not prompt in keeping their appointments.

Original Statement: A true friend never betrays you.

Standard Form: No true friend is betraying you.

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 Original Statement: Nowhere can you find a perfect solution.
Standard Form: No perfect solution is a solution to be found.

Quantifiers such as, ‘one’, ‘two’, ‘three’, ‘many’, ‘few’, ‘a few’, ‘most’ or any other number mentioning
quantity must be translated to standard form. Proposition carrying ‘one’ should be translated same as a
singular proposition. However, a proposition carrying all other numerical designators like, two, three,
four, ten, fifty etc. to designate quantity should be translated as particular affirmative (I) carrying ‘some’
as quantifier. ‘Many’, ‘several’, ‘sometimes, ‘usually’, ‘generally’ ‘occasionally’ ‘once’, ‘majority’, ‘most of
them’, ‘once’, etc. should also be translated as ‘some’.

Original Statement: Only one answer is correct on the test.

Standard Form: One answer on the test is correct.

Original Statement: There are three nursing students who passed the assessment.
Standard Form: Some nursing students are passing the assessment.

Original Statement: Many people think that climate change is a serious issue.
Standard Form: Some people are thinking climate change as a serious issue.

However, special attention should be put to propositions using ‘a few’ and ‘few’ as designators. They
cannot be translated into a single categorical proposition. Instead, they are translated as a compound of I
and O propositions.

Original Statement: A few students passed the exam.

Standard Form: Some students passed the exam, and some students did not pass the exam.

There are propositions with no quantifier. In these cases what the sentence wants to express becomes
quite ambiguous. In these cases, the meaning of the sentences can be determined only by examining the
context in which they occur. We often need to rely on the surrounding information or situation.

Original Statement: Computers are powerful.

It is very probable that it refers to all computers and should be translated as:
Standard Form: All computers are powerful.

Original Statement: Students are absent.

It is clear that only some students are referred to and thus the standard form
translation would be:
Standard Form: Some students are absent.

Original Statement: Brand-new cars are expensive.

Standard Form: All brand-new cars are expensive.

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