Some games require participants to come up with words that qualify as a “person, place, or thing”. Can an activity, in particular the word “caroling”, qualify as a thing?
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1Sure. The proclamation ‘Let’s do this thing’ comes to mind.– JimCommented Nov 22, 2018 at 6:39
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What is a "thing" in the first place? Look it up in a good dictionary. Good Luck.– KrisCommented Nov 22, 2018 at 7:03
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There's been a post or two earlier about "thing" -- so also look up previous related posts here. All the Best.– KrisCommented Nov 22, 2018 at 7:04
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Can you name some games requiring participants to come up with words that qualify as a “person, place, or thing”? Can you describe how an activity, in particular the word “caroling”, could qualify as a thing?– Robbie GoodwinCommented Nov 22, 2018 at 21:26
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1Yes, events are things. The active participle "caroling" can be a gerund, which is used like a noun. It can be quantified, take adjectives, and be replaced by a pronoun -- all things that identify a noun.– AmICommented Nov 23, 2018 at 7:36
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3 Answers
Philosophers have puzzled for centuries over what a 'thing' is. A hundred years ago, for example, Alan North Whitehead in his book ^The Concept of Nature argued that the only true 'things' were not material things but events. He said that a mountain was no more than a (very) "slow event". When we see lightening, he pointed out, we are not seeing something flash. So yes, it can be used to stand either for a material object or for an event or activity. Indeed it can stand for almost anything: "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing."
So you judge by context what it means. In this case, the first two words in the phrase are 'person' and 'place'. In that trio, I should be inclined to say the intention is that the third alternative is something material, like a hammer, a telephone or a tree. But that is not certain. In the end, the players should agree among themselves.
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Thanks for the thorough answer and the balance you’ve given too Commented Aug 22, 2023 at 20:18
The word 'thing' is of very wide semantics. For example, according to Collins Dictionary: 'thing' is defined as 'anything that is or may become an object of thought'. So any activity can be qualified as 'thing'.
answered Nov 22, 2018 at 6:02
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Yes, The Cambridge and Merriam Webster English dictionaries also classify the word similarly, according to among other things, events as well as objects. My point is a philosophical/logical one, and so yours fits more tightly to the English Language Usage than mine, which is why I 'ticked' it.– TuffyCommented Aug 23, 2023 at 20:28
The word could be used in a very broad sense that encompasses activities. It seems, however, that the OP is trying to interpret some rule that contains the phrase 'person, place, or thing', and in that context, the word probably has the narrower, and more usual, sense of a tangible, inanimate object. If the authors of the rule had intended to use the word in the very wide sense of anything that can be thought of, the other words would have been redundant.
