Propertiesthose

Propertiesthose is a term used in theoretical semantics and ontology to describe a class of properties associated with a demonstrative determiner such as those. The concept captures the idea that some properties are attributed to all members of a discourse referent group chosen by a demonstrative like those.

In formal terms, propertiesthose refers to the set of predicates P such that every member x of a referent set G satisfies P(x). Equivalently, it is the intersection of the properties true of each member of G. This notion emphasizes invariants across a group rather than properties that apply to individuals alone.

For example, in the sentence Those books are well-worn and rare, the properties well-worn and rare would be part of the shared property set only if all books in the referenced group share those attributes. If any book lacks a given property, that property is not part of the shared set for that group.

The concept is used to model how demonstratives interact with property attribution in language, knowledge representation, and ontology design. It helps formalize when a property is truly common to a discourse referent and when it is merely typical of some members. The idea remains debated, with critics noting that context and discourse updates can change what counts as shared.

See also: demonstratives, shared properties, invariants in semantics.