Lesson 6 | Proposition rules
All meaning includes a verbal idea
About verbs
We return now to the subject of breaking up a passage into propositions. Up to this point, you have been asked to do so intuitively. Now we will work toward more precision and understanding. As you will recall, a proposition as a verbal idea. Thus, we begin by thinking about verbs.
A proposition is a simple assertion about something. The word 'Jesus' conveys no determinate meaning when I say it alone. But, when I say, 'Jesus wept,' a very clear meaning is conveyed because this statement is a proposition. In order to understand propositions, one must know at least the rudiments of grammar and syntax. Propositions only have meanings because they are put together according to established rules. You cannot communicate if you disobey all the rules. 'Paul carried the basket' and 'The basket carried Paul' are two propositions which use exactly the same words but convey very different meaning. —John Piper, from Biblical Exegesis
The difference between “Jesus” and “Jesus wept” is that the latter contains a verb whereas the former does not. Verbs are actions and tell us what happened, is happening or will happen. The exception to this is the verb “to be” which tells us what is. All ideas must contain a verbal idea, though sometimes the verb is merely implied. Consider these examples with the verbs emphasized in bold.
“You look lovely.” “She has passed the test.” (In English, a single verbal idea is often made up of multiple words.) “He was immediately made aware of the situation.” (Those words can even be split up by adverbs.) “I am going to eat at the office.” (In this case, there are two verbal ideas present—“am going” and “to eat”) “Fire!” (Here, there is an implied verb. The meaning is “There is a fire!”)
Subjects and objects
It is also important for you to learn the basics of subjects and objects. The first thing to understand is that the verb is the anchor of them both. The question is not, “What is the subject?” Rather, the question is, “What is the subject of a specific verb.” The same goes for objects. There is no such thing as a verbless subject or verbless object in grammar.
The subject of the verb tells us who or what did the verb. Most verbs have a subject—be it explicit or implied. (The exceptions are infinitives and participles which we will discuss in a later step.) The subjects of the verbs in the above examples are you, she, he, I, and the implied there. But the fourth example, you will recall, had two verbs. I is the subject of the verb “am going” whereas the infinitive verb “to eat” does not have a subject.
The object of a verb answers the what? question we are left with after noting the subject and verb. Some propositions will include an object where others will not. We can ask this question to the examples above to discover the object of each verb.
You look what? Answer: lovely. She has passed what? Answer: the test. He was made what? Answer: aware. I am going what? See below. to eat what? Answer: [no object given] There is what? Answer: a fire.
The fourth question does not make a lot of sense. This is because it is followed by a complementary infinitive. As we will see in the next step, such an observation will lead us to keep “I am going to eat at the office” all together as a single proposition.
Finally, note that in English, the subject usually comes before the verb and the object typically comes after. This is the difference between “Paul carried the basket” and “The basket carried Paul.”
Basic GrammarpdfA breakdown of the basic grammatical components discussed in this lesson and the next. This is an important cheat sheet to print out if you are not proficient in English grammar.
If you still feel intimidated by verbs and subjects and objects, don’t be discouraged! We have a short, six-lesson course called Grammar that introduces you to the grammar you need to know to study the Bible well, and does so much more slowly. Consider pausing your progress in this course to work on the Grammar course.
A short quiz
Before moving on, let's see if you have understood the grammatical concepts to this point. Throughout this lesson, each step will end with a short quiz of this sort.
Hint: the subject of a command is “you.”
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. —Philippians 2:14-16
What is the subject of "do" (vs14)?
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What is the object of "do" (vs14)?
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What is the subject of "may be" (vs15)?
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What is the object of "may be" (vs15)?
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What is the subject of "shine" (vs15)?
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What is the object of "shine" (vs15)?
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What is the subject of "may be" (vs16)?
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What is the object of "may be" (vs16)?
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What is the subject of "did not run" (vs16)?
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What is the object of "did not run" (vs16)?
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What is the subject of "labor" (vs16)?
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What is the object of "labor" (vs16)?
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