What Is a Minor Sentence in English

A fragmented, elliptical, or incomplete sentence or clause that still conveys meaning. Also called a minor clause, an abbreviated clause, or a sentence fragment. There are several types of minor sentences and clauses in English. These include exclamations and interjections (for example, Wow and What the hell), aphoristic expressions (Like father, like son), answers to questions (Not right now), self-identification (Mary here), imperatives (Go!), and vocatives (You over there!). As shown below, minor sentences are used more often in speech and tweets than in formal written English. The use of the term minor to describe this sentence pattern in English has been attributed to both Leonard Bloomfield (Language, 1933) and Eugene Nida (dissertation, 1943; Synopsis of English Syntax, 1966). Examples and Observations: Thats the grub signal. All out for breakfast. First come, first served.One of his sons suddenly turned his head and exclaimed, Hullo! What is that? He dived through the door and I heard him shout. Fire! Fire! We crowded after him pushing our way past the buffaloes.Minor Sentences at the Market[O]ften purchases may be made entirely with the use of minor sentence types: How much for these? Fifty cents a dozen. Too much. How about these over here? Well, how much for them? Forty cents per. All right. A few sprigs of parsley too, then? Okay. Thanks. Good-bye.Stylistic AdviceNot all sentences contain verbs; completeness is not dependent on the presence of a finite verb. Grammarians do, however, put sentences without finite verbs in a special category of their own. They call them minor sentences. To return to the matter in hand and What an absolutely perfect day! are, like Yes! and Really? minor sentences.Minor Sentences and Illocutionary Force[M]inor clauses which function independently ma y have illocutionary force, . . . as can be seen from the following two examples of minor clauses from the dialogue, to which we add an example of a moodless -ing clause:Simon here. (minor clause)Fantastic! (minor clause)Minor Sentences in TweetsA decision also has to be made about how to handle minor sentences (yeah, wow, hey, haha, etc.), which are a noticeable feature of Twitter data. Presumably elements such as lol, omg, btw, smh, and emoticons should be classed as minor sentences, even though some etymologically represent something more complex (laughing out loud, scratching my head). These appear in 25 tweets (17 percent) and are a major feature of the style of some tweeters, who can introduce three or four in a single message:haha yea thats the best language to speak lolIn all, 36 tweets (25 percent) incorporate minor sentences of one kind or another. Sources Samuel Hopkins Adams,  The Harvey Girls. Random House, 1942 Wilfred Thesiger,  The Marsh Arabs. Longmans, 1964 Eugene A. Nida,  A Synopsis of English Syntax. Walter de Gruyter, 1973 Angela Downing and Philip Locke,  English Grammar: A University Course. Routledge, 2006 David Crystal,  Internet Linguistics: A Student Guide. Routledge, 2011

Political Duties And Moral Obligations - 1518 Words

Essay One I Abbie Humphreys declare that I have neither received nor given any unauthorized assistance on this assignment. It’s a difficult thing to decide whether one’s moral obligation should take precedence over civil duty, or vice versa. As both of these aspects of life are vital to the smooth running of society, though it can be said that there are moral â€Å"grey areas† where we can believe that we are more right and more just than the law. In these readings our main characters all believed they were above the law, and that their moral obligations were more important from a justice viewpoint leading them to trouble from the law. This does not mean that political duties are always at odds with moral obligations, in a sense political duties to comply with our own moral obligations with the exception of some grey areas. In this paper I will argue that political duties and moral obligations do comply with each other, while our civil duty of being law abiding citizens s hould come first. In Antigone, she decides to go against the new law that King Creon declares against the burial of the traitor, Polyneices. Polyneices is Antigone’s brother who attacked the city of Thebes with the Argive army causing the war, Eteocles his brother kills him and is also killed in the process, the King gives Eteocles a hero’s burial but denies an appropriate burial for Polyneices. Antigone decides to do what she believes is morally just over what is lawfully right and gives Polyneices aShow MoreRelatedTypes of Utilitarianism1211 Words   |  5 Pagesutilitarian approach to moral obligation is different; its proponents are John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham. There are two types of utilitarianism: The act utilitarianism and the rule utilitarianism. But Critics of utilitarianism have claimed that the moral theory is capable of accounting for the stringency of certain kinds of moral obligation such as promissory obligations. However, Sartorius (1969) asserts that act utilitarianism claims that features of moral obligation are based upon retrospectiveRead MoreWhy Political Obligation Can Not Be Grounded?1187 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Political Obligation Cannot be grounded in Benefits since Most Citizens Never Ask to Receive Such Benefits† – Discuss To have political obligation is to have a duty to obey the laws of one’s country or state. The benefits that may result in political obligations can include security, welfare and infrastructure. The benefit theory for obligation has many criticisms besides the idea that â€Å"most citizens never ask for them† and I am going evaluate this theory alongside what I argue to be the reasonRead MoreShould Laws Always Be Obeyed?981 Words   |  4 PagesShould laws always be obeyed? I regard the law as standing under legally enforceable duties to one another. In all fields of law, the emphasis is ever on duty, be it agreed duty, as in a contract, or imposed duty, as in a tort or a crime. Legal obligations upheld by the social contract may limit people’s liberty but do so only in ways necessary to yield benefits for all. The ‘rule of law’ governs the conducts between people and arguably serves the greater interests of all participants in a legalRead MoreThe Ethics Of Non Voluntary Active Euthanasia1050 Words   |  5 Pagesdeontology suggest duty and obligation. A medical professional in such situations have an obligation to fulfill the patient s wishes. The nature of their obligation does not sway based on what they personally think. Patients with dementia have some moments of clarity, but because their brains are still deteriorating, non- voluntary active euthanasia should still be permissible under these conditions. In the theory of deontology, it is defined as â€Å"the focus on the duties and obligations one has in carryingRead MoreJean Jacques Rousseau s Principle Of Governing1391 Words   |  6 Pagesrights of its population. In this system, education is a right, and duties include military service, obedience to the one party in charge of the continent, and the sense of civic responsibility means upholding the ideal of equality across the entire spectrum of society. This cross-examination will show that even in vastly differing landscapes of political economy and civil society, the principles of balance between civic rights, duties, and responsibilities follow measurably similar patterns. The basisRead MoreMoral Responsibility797 Words   |  4 Pages(A) of the core moral responsibility This is done by P. Pula Li (Peter Pratley)proposed. Pula Li believes that the same as the implementation of quality management, companies also accept the moral responsibility of the concrete. at the lowest level, the enterprise must take three responsibilities: (1) concern for consumers, such as the ability to meet the ease of use, product safety And other requirements; (2)concern for the environment; (3) interest on the minimum working conditions. Platts theseRead MoreWhistleblowing1148 Words   |  5 PagesWhile many of us can see the criminal and political ramifications of whistleblowing there is still one area that can often be seen as a more personal one†¦that of the ethical debate. As stated in Lars Lindblom’s article Dissolving the Moral Dilemma of Whistleblowing, â€Å"The ethical debate on whistleblowing concerns centrally the conflict between the right to political free speech and the duty of loyalty to the organization where one works.†2 The political philosophy of John Rawls that can be appliedRead MorePolitical Ideals And Ideology : Take Home Test 1991 Words   |  4 PagesKorede Kazeem 7707916 Political ideals and ideology Take home test 1 Do we have a political obligation to obey the law? We have a political obligation to obey the law in our society , this belief is backed up by the justifications of fairness, consent, utilitarianism, and morality, but the most compelling arguments found for the justification of why we should obey the law are consent, fairness and morality, Utilitarianism. Although there are many justifications for why we should obey theRead More Democracy and Political Obligation Essay4061 Words   |  17 PagesThe public life of political servants is characterized by other duties and obligations than private life. Conflicts can even arise between a persons public and private duties. The central point of this paper is to examine whether this difference of duties can be regarded as an effect of different forms of obligation. Can we speak of a particular form of political obligation in the same way in which Kant distinguishes between ethical and legal obligation, the former pertaining to intentions and theRead MoreHobbes And Locke s Political Legitim acy1530 Words   |  7 PagesIn defining political legitimacy, many theorists put forth a distinct set of values that frame their view on the authorities’ right to rule and citizen’s obligation to follow. Theorists such as Hobbes and Locke, both of their account on political legitimacy might look quite similar at first glance, because each theorized about the nature of mankind and the right political systems that would meet the needs of individuals. However, in Hobbes’ perspective, political authority does not pre-exist in individual’s

My Proof of Theism Free Essays

Introduction to Philosophy 200 Spring 2008 My Proof of Theism Jenny Wiggins In this essay, I plan to give proofs that defendtraditional theism. Traditional theism is defined by E. K. We will write a custom essay sample on My Proof of Theism or any similar topic only for you Order Now Daniel in his essay, A Defense of Theism, as: â€Å"there exists a being, God, who has all of the following attributes: God is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), supremely good (omnibenevolent), infinite, eternal, a being who possesses all perfections, transcendent to the natural universe, but the creator of the universe (Daniel, p. 259). † I find it ironic to prove theism in philosophy class. Even Greek philosophers believe in a higher power. The question that is not always agreed upon is which or what higher power to believe? That being said, since there are views that refute theism, I will also take some of these arguments and try to find their weakness. The first classical argument that I will put forth to argue the existence of God is the first cause argument also known as the cosmological argument. This argument simply says that everything has a cause, so if we proceed backwards to find every cause,we would never be able to stop. This is unintelligible. For one to think about it rationally there must be a first cause, a cause that in itself is uncaused. This uncaused being we will call God. Therefore, God exists. The first cause argument proposes that the universe is finite, which means it is limited, and to think of it as infinite would be unintelligible. It also says that the universe is contingent, by stating that each thing in it has a cause. Since the universe could not have caused itself, there must something uncaused that caused the universe. Daniel reformulates the first cause (cosmological) argument this way: P1: Everything in the universe is finite. P2: Whatever is finite is limited. P3: Hence, whatever is limited cannot be the cause of its own existence. P4: Everything in the universe is contingent. P5: Whatever is contingent is dependent on something else for its existence. P6: Hence, whatever is contingent cannot be the cause of its own existence. P7: The totality of things making up the universe is also finite and contingent. P8: Thus, the totality (universe) must also have a cause for its existence. P9: Since it cannot be the cause of its own existence, the cause must be something external to the universe. P10: That is, since the universe cannot contain the reason for its existence within itself, the reason for its existence must be something external to it. P11: Hence, there must exist an infinite and self-subsistent (non-contingent) being who is the cause of the universe. P12: Unlike that which is finite and contingent, such a being must exist necessarily. P13: Such a being is commonly called God. Conclusion: Therefore, there exists an infinite, necessary, and uncaused cause – God (Daniel, p. 68). A question to this argument may be: Do the attributes of finite and contingent, referring to the universe, necessarily need an uncaused being to have created its existence? The very definitions of finite and contingent rationally conclude, yes. If the claim that an infinite sequence of causes was untrue the universe would possibly not exist at all, because if even one of those causes were taken out all succeeding causes would cease to exist. I would also like to take a look at another classical argument which is the design argument also known as the teleological argument. The design argument says that the universe is created in such a way that everything is designed and adapted for a purpose (Daniel, p. 261). The fact that the universe and everything in it seems to be put there in an orderly fashion with things working together in order to give purpose and produce a means to an end, suggests that there was a maker. Consider my argument in defense of the teleological argument below: P1: If we examine an automobile of any kind, we can see that each part has a purpose and design. P2: We can also see that there is an order and complexity. P3: We find that the parts are arranged in such a way that they will operate together in order for us to drive the automobile. P4: This is certainly evidence of rationality and design. Conclusion: Hence, there exists a rational being that designed and brought the automobile into being. Daniel defends the teleological argument by reformulating it in this way: P1: Look out at the universe and the things within it. P2: The universe also shows evidence of design and purpose. P3: We detect orderliness and intricacy. P4: More importantly, we find purposiveness: a marvelous adaptation of means to ends. P5: An example of such purposeful adaptation is the existence of two sexes for the end of procreation or the structure of the eye for the end of seeing. P6: All this is also evidence of rationality and design. P7: Hence, there must exist a rational being who designed and brought the universe into existence. Conclusion: That is, there must exist a Cosmic Designer –God (Daniel, 269). An objection to the teleological argument could be: This earth is not well made; there are plenty of things that do not have adaptation of means to ends. An explanation for this is even though it seems that something does not have purpose for one reason or another it does, but we cannot understand it. Yet another objection may be can we hypothesize that in order to have something of an intricate design that there had to be an intelligent maker? The answer would be yes because a designer cannot make something intelligent by not being so himself. Last but not least I would like to look at the moral argument. This argument states that people have a sense of moral obligation, a feeling to do what is good and right, coming from outside of them. There is no explanation for the sense of completemoral obligation that a person feels other than there is a moral law giver transcendent of the universe. Therefore, such a moral law giver, God, must exist. Human needs and behavior do not explain the complete sense of obligation to do what is right or moral (Daniel, p. 261). Take for example the missionaries sense of obligation to do whatever is in their power humanly and spiritually to help others that they do not even know. The missionaries may possibly risk their very own lives by entering a violent situation just by feeling a complete moral obligation to do so. Another example may be of parents that forgive a murderer who has murdered their only child and they are unable to conceive a new child. These instances are examples of the moral argument. Our doing of good works and deeds by complete moral obligation that is felt to come from outside of ourselves at the forfeit of our own happiness makes no sense unless there is something outside of this universe that compels us to do so, I believe that that compelling force is God. An objection to the moral argument would be: Couldn’t our parents have simply brought us up to do what is morally right? It is not a sense in that one can be taught but a complete sense that will not fail. The decision we make may go against what we are taught as children. I will now take a look at the problem of evil which is most frequently used in the argument against theism. In H. J. McCloskey’s essay, God and Evil, he states the problem in this way, â€Å"Evil is a problem for the theist in that a contradiction is involved in the fact of evil on the one hand, and the belief in the omnipotence and perfection of God on the other. God cannot be both all-powerful and perfectly good if evil is real. † An argument can be formulated to disprove the existence of God in the following way: P1: God is a being that is both all-powerful and perfectly good. P2: An all-powerful being could eliminate all evil. P3: A perfectly good being would eliminate all the evil it has the power to eliminate. P4: Evil exists in the world. P5: Therefore, there is no being that is both all-powerful and perfectly good (McCloskey, p. 328). An argument that would refute the problem of evil is as follows: P1: Evil is necessary to appreciate goodness. P2: Evil is unreal. P3: Evil is necessary for the goodness of the world. The world is made better by the evil in it. P4: Evil is not due to God but to man’s misuse of the free will that God gave him (McCloskey Hick, 332 347). With regards to the latter of these two arguments one might think of the analogy of having something that you think is not good, losing it, and then realizing that what you hadwasn’t so bad in the first place. Most people learn lessons from the hardships that they face in life and go on to live an even better life. Man does not always make the most rational decisions in his life and those bad decisions usually have consequences. This is no evidence that there is not an all-powerful and perfectly good God. K. D. Ellis refutes theism in his essay, Why I Am an Agnostic, on the grounds that there are no good reasons, meaning no reliable empirical evidence or sound rational arguments, to believe that there is a God (Ellis, p. 296). He suggests that the classical arguments that are stated in Daniel’s essay, â€Å"may offer some support for the plausibility of the belief in a god, but they are not sufficiently strong enough to compel our assent to the conclusion that a god exists. † He also says that there is no knowledge in the statement, God exists (Ellis, p. 297). However, Ellis also refutes atheism because of the philosophical atheist’s main arguments flaw which is as follows: P1: There is no good reason for anyone to believe that God exists. Conclusion: Therefore, God does not exist. This way of arguing is an argument of ignorance. To say I know what you mean by the ideal of God as a transcendent entity, but, he does not exist. This argumentis fallacious. This is Ellis’ reason for refuting atheism (Ellis, p. 298). Ellis instead makes his stand with agnosticism, because there are no good arguments for God’s existence or refuting God’s existence. Both claims cannot be trueas he states, â€Å"I have tried to show that we cannot know which is true. † Therefore, he takes the position of traditional agnosticism (Ellis, p. 301). How to cite My Proof of Theism, Essay examples

Understand Human Charecteristics On Numbers †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Understand Human Charecteristics On Numbers. Answer: Introduction The poem, A Word on Statistics is written by a Nobel laureate polish poet Maria Wis?awa Anna Szymborska. This poem is an analysis of human characteristics based on numbers. The numbers mentioned in the poem are the actual statistical data. The poet has asked questions from her point of view on human characteristics and conducted a survey on one hundred people. The aim of this essay is to analysis the main theme of the poem, which is human mortality. The essay will also demonstrate the other elements presented in the poem, like symbolism, conflict, tone, repetition, imagery to support its main theme. Discussions The central theme of the poem is human mortality. Every human being may have varied characteristics though everyone is mortal. This is the permanent character of every human life. This is the only unchangeable characteristic of human. The poet has illustrated this point at the end of the poem. She has conducted a survey on one hundred people. She has shown that certain amount of people carry certain characteristics. The first three lines can be an example to support this statement, like, Out of every hundred people, / those who always know better: fifty-two (Theatlantic.com). The statistical number fifty-two is representing the characteristics of people who know things better than the rest. The rest of the amount that is the number of forty-eight people are, Unsure of every step (Theatlantic.com). However, at the end of the poem the poet has fixed a universal character of the human being, which is mortality. Here, the number one hundred has completed a circle where no variation is al lowed. Mortality is applicable for each human being. No one can alter this characteristic. The last stanza of the poem is the portrayal of the main theme: mortal: one hundred out of one hundred- / a figure that has never varied yet (Theatlantic.com). The poem has used numbers as symbols to represent the variety of human characteristics. The numbers have worked as a portion of a whole; the whole is applicable for all and the portion represents different characteristics of different human being. For example, according to the poets statistical data the forty-nine out of one hundred people are Ready to help, / if it doesnt take long (Theatlantic.com). The number forty-nine could be poets imagination, as she believes that four or five people are always good in any situation as their characteristics are like that. They cannot be an alternative of their goodness. However, the number four or five are the symbolization of good people, which is a fraction of a whole. Eighteen out of hundred people could be able to praise other people without being jealous. More or less than sixty people are led to mistakes influencing by the youth. The seventy-seven people carry characteristics of persistent dismay as if they co-exist with constant fear. I n this manner, the poet has shown the method of symbolization of numbers. The different amount of numbers represents different human characteristics. However, each number symbolizes a constant character of the human life, which is death. The poem, A Word on Statistics is representation of conflict between variable and non-variable characteristics of life. Apart from death, everything is variable in humans life. The conflict has started at the beginning of the poem with an agenda of survey. The poet wants to conduct a survey on characteristics of human life. There is projection of different numbers showing different characteristics. The conflict, which is related to different numerology on human lifes characteristics, has continued throughout the poem. These are all the variable factors of life. The factors vary according to the context. Like, twenty-some-odd at most are capable of happiness or thirty people could be very much materialistic. They get nothing out of life except things (Theatlantic.com). The numbers vary with the features of human nature. The only non-variable characteristic is death. Human life is bound by death. The conflict between variable and non-variable has been resolved at the end of the poem wh ere the poet announces that mortality is the only characteristic of human life, which no one can alter. The tone or attitude of this poem is to reach a truth of life. The truth of human life is that they are the mortal being. Their life has a beginning as well as an end. The end is declared by the death. No one can escape from this reality. The poet, Maria Wis?awa Anna Szymborska has proven this truth by showing a statistical calculation. The calculation has reached its completion when the poet has concluded at the end of the poem with the limitation of human life. The limitation is defined by the death. The poet has stated that out of hundred people each one is a mortal being. There is no variation of this rule. The poet has used different types of imagery throughout the poem. In stanza eight, the poet has compelled the reader to imagine that someone is constantly watching from their back. The stanza eight is, Living in constant fear of someone or something, which means that the poet has used imagery of someone is continuously watching to hurt. Out of hundred, seventy-seven people are suffering from this constant fear. Imagery also has been used in stanza ten. The word clouds is represented for crowd. The stanza ten is, Harmless singly, savage in / clouds / -Half at least (Theatlantic.com). Here the possible imagery is that a person who wants to perform brutality towards something or someone hides in crowd where one can hide his or her identity. The poet has used clouds as an imagery to depict crowd. At least half the number of total people is Harmless singly, savage in / clouds (Theatlantic.com). Repetition, a literary device has been used in this poem by continuously stating a number of possible human characteristics that he might possess. The number of people out of one hundred people who possess the characteristics follows it. The repetition has occurred throughout each stanza of this poem. The number and the possible human characteristics have been repeated in recurrence. Conclusion It can be concluded by stating that A Word on Statistics is a poem that shows human characteristics based on the statistical data. However, every human possess characteristic of mortality. This is the final statement of the poem. The poet has contributed to the statistics by calculating the human nature. The final word of the poet is that every human life is bound by death. References Theatlantic.com. "A Word On Statistics - 97.05."Theatlantic.Com, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/unbound/poetry/antholog/szymbors/stats.htm.