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A SENTENCE is a string of words put together by the

grammatical rules of a language, neither a physical event
nor a physical object. It is, conceived abstractly.

According to James R. Hurford, sentence definition is a

grammatically complete string of words expressing a
complete thought. For example, We are going to learn
about English.

UTTERANCES

Those whom God loves

die young
The same sentence was involved in
the two readings, but you made two
different utterances

UTTERANCE
An UTTERANCE is any stretch of talk, by one
person, before and after which there is
silence on the part of that person.
An utterance is the USE of a piece of
language, such as a sequence of sentences,
or a single phrase, or even a single word by a
particular speaker on a particular occasion.

1.The plane now arriving is Garuda Airlines.

2.Horses.
3.Hummmpfh
4.Pxdgytguaargh.
5.Utterances may consist of a single word, a single phrase or

a single sentence. They may also consist of a sequence of

sentences. It is not unusual to find utterances that consist of
one or more grammatically incomplete sentence-fragments.

Utterances are physical events. Events are temporary,

which means lasting for a very short time. So that,
utterances die on the wind.

The meaning of a sentence is determined by the language,

something known to all people who have learned to use
that language.

The meaning of an utterance is the meaning of the

sentence plus the meanings of the circumstances: the time
and place, the people involved, their backgrounds, their
relationship to one another, and what they know about one
another. All these circumstances we can call the physicalsocial context of an utterance.

Im hungry
1. A beggar who has not eaten all day
2. a child who hopes to put off going to bed
3. a young man who hopes to get better acquainted with one of
his co-workers and intends to ask her to have dinner with him
The three events obviously have something in common and yet,
just as obviously, they are different: they indicate different
intentions and are liable to be interpreted differently because
the situations and the participants are different.

WHY SHOULD WE DIFFERENTIATE

SENTENCE WITH UTTERANCE?

Because it is important to recognize what meanings are

communicated to us in language and which meanings we
derive from the contexts in which language is used.

Because it is important to distinguish between linguistic

meaning, what is communicated by particular pieces of
language, and utterance meaning, what a certain individual
meant by saying such-and-such in a particular place, at a
particular time, and to certain other individuals.

PROPOSITION

1a We walk in the park.

1b our walk in the park
1c for us to walk in the park

 The semantic content shared by the three

expressions is a proposition.
A simple statement like We walk in the park
expresses a single proposition, something
presented as a fact and therefore
depending on verification; generally
speaking, one can find out if the proposition is
true or false.

PROPOSITION
A PROPOSITION is that part of the meaning of the
utterance of a declarative sentence which describes
some state of affairs (situations). (the truth value of
a declarative sentence)
In uttering a declarative sentence a speaker
typically asserts a proposition.
We dont walk in the park is the negation of this
proposition, and Do we walk in the park? is a
question about it.

A proposition can be expressed in different

sentences. They convey the same message they
express the same proposition.

2a Helen put on a sweater.

2b Helen put a sweater on.

3a Richard wrote the report.

3b Richard is the one who wrote the report.

3c The report was written by Richard.

3d The report is what Richard wrote.

Richard wrote a report and Helen

did, too.
The sentence contains two propositions, the first
expressed in a straightforward way, the secondHelen
wrote a reportthrough the function words did and too.

CONCLUSION

A proposition is something abstract but meaningful. It can be

expressed in different sentences and in parts of sentences,
perhaps with differences of focus but always with the same
basic meaning. And, as you recall, any sentence can be
expressed in different utterances, produced by different people
at different times and in different places.

SCHEMATICALLY: