First constituent: Zayd identifies a particular person.
Second constituent: is sitting expresses a state asserted about that person.
Combined meaning: a proposition about Zayd’s posture.
Change Zayd to Amr and the subject changes; change sitting to standing and the predicate changes. Each meaningful part plays an intended role in the whole proposition, which makes the expression composite.
Opening interactive controls...
Step-by-step: “Zayd is sitting”
Simple and Composite Expressions: Definitions, Four Forms, and Examples
First constituent: Zayd identifies a particular person.
Second constituent: is sitting expresses a state asserted about that person.
Combined meaning: a proposition about Zayd’s posture.
Change Zayd to Amr and the subject changes; change sitting to standing and the predicate changes. Each meaningful part plays an intended role in the whole proposition, which makes the expression composite.