Predicate Logic

18. Free and bound variables

The Lecture
Free and bound

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Free and bound

! Variables play two different roles in

predicate logic.
! The meaning of !x(xEy) is that y has a
neighbor. This is a property of y and
may be true or false depending on what
y is.
! The role of x in !x(xEy) is to bind the
quantifier !x and the formula xEy
together.
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Bound occurrence 1

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Bound occurrence 1
! Every occurrence of a variable x in a formula
of the form !xB or of the form "xB is called a
bound occurrence. Occurrences which are not
bound are called free.

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Bound occurrence 1
! Every occurrence of a variable x in a formula
of the form !xB or of the form "xB is called a
bound occurrence. Occurrences which are not
bound are called free.

!x(xEy & "z(zEy!z=x))

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Bound occurrence 1
! Every occurrence of a variable x in a formula
of the form !xB or of the form "xB is called a
bound occurrence. Occurrences which are not
bound are called free.

!x(xEy & "z(zEy!z=x))

Bound occurrence

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Bound occurrence 2

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Bound occurrence 2

!x(xEy & !y(¬yEx))

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Bound occurrence 2

!x(xEy & !y(¬yEx))

y free y bound

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Assignments and free variables

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Assignments and free variables
! Whether an assignment s satisfies a
formula in a model or not, depends
only on the values of s on variables
that occur free in the formula.

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Assignments and free variables
! Whether an assignment s satisfies a
formula in a model or not, depends
only on the values of s on variables
that occur free in the formula.
! Whether s satisfes !x(xEy & !y
(¬yEx)) or not, depends only on s(y),
not on s(x).

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Sentences

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Sentences

! Some formulas have no free variables.

They are called sentences.

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Sentences

! Some formulas have no free variables.

They are called sentences.
! "y!x(xEy & !z(¬zEx)) is a sentence.

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Sentences

! Some formulas have no free variables.

They are called sentences.
! "y!x(xEy & !z(¬zEx)) is a sentence.
! "y!x(xEy & !z(¬zEx)) says of a graph
that every vertex has a neighbor with a
non-neighbor.

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Truth

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Truth
! Sentences are true or false in a
structure, according to whether some
(equivalently, all) assignments satisfy
them.

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Truth
! Sentences are true or false in a
structure, according to whether some
(equivalently, all) assignments satisfy
them.
! If a sentence A is true in a structure M,
the structure M is called a model of the
sentence A.

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Truth
! Sentences are true or false in a
structure, according to whether some
(equivalently, all) assignments satisfy
them.
! If a sentence A is true in a structure M,
the structure M is called a model of the
sentence A.
! This is denoted M䎼A.

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