The basis of the following classification is: ‘first President of India’,…

Concept

A name conventionally labels an entity, whereas a descriptive phrase identifies or characterizes an entity through words that state its properties or relations. Descriptive phrases may be definite, indefinite, or plural or class-forming. Their reference is determined by the descriptive content of the phrase rather than by a conventional name alone.

Application

• ‘first President of India’ and ‘author of Godan’ identify individuals through a role or relation.

• ‘books in my library’, ‘blue things’, and ‘students who work hard’ identify classes through stated properties.

• Thus, every expression in the list uses descriptive content to identify or characterize its referent.

Contrast and cross-check

• Common names such as ‘book’ or ‘student’ are general lexical labels; the listed expressions contain added descriptive conditions.

• Proper names such as ‘Rajendra Prasad’ or ‘Godan’ conventionally name particular entities; the listed expressions are not themselves such names.

• Indefinite descriptions are only one subtype and normally use expressions such as ‘a’, ‘an’, or ‘some’; the list also contains definite and plural descriptions.

• Descriptive phrases is the only category broad enough to include every listed expression.

Result

The common basis of classification is descriptive phrases.