On ‘There Is’: Logical Investigations into Instantial Sentences

Abstract I distinguish between instantial sentences ( There are elephants that swim ), particular quantification, and predication of existence in natural language. I explore the logical relation between the first two, while the last one is shown independent of either. I continue to consider the incorporation of the three kinds of sentence in the Quantified Argument Calculus (Quarc). I provide formalisations that preserve the logical relations specified earlier. I also extend the analysis to quantified instantial sentences ( There are five elephants that swim ) and modal ones. A conclusion of this work is that quantification and instantial sentences provide no guide to ontology.