 But however the inferences are represented, the important point is that the variables—represented here in italics—range over certain parts of propositions. Intuitively, common nouns like ‘politician’ and adjectives like ‘deceitful’ are general terms, since they can apply to more than one individual. And many propositions apparently contain correspondingly general elements. For example, the proposition that every senator is wealthy contains two such elements, both relevant to the validity of inferences involving this proposition.