Indefiniteness may come from the use of certain words that from their very nature are indefinite in meaning. Such are the verbs be, do, have, become, happen, and the prepositions of and about. Examples of indefiniteness growing out of such colorless words are found in the following questions, which are types of many asked in our schools daily:—
What does water do when heated? (Expands, evaporates, boils.)
What happens when it lightnings? (Thunder, discharge of electricity, flash.)
What must immigrants coming into this country have? (Money, freedom from disease, character.)
What did Arnold become? (A traitor, a British general, an outcast, a repentant man.)
What is the cow? (A mammal, a quadruped, a producer of milk, butter, and beef; an herbivorous animal.)
What about the Monroe Doctrine? (A dozen different things.)
What of the animals in the temperate zone?
Questions may be so general as to be indefinite. The teacher asks, "Where is Chicago?" The class may answer, "In Illinois on Lake Michigan; in North America; in Cook County." The teacher should know just what answer he desires, and then ask, "In what State; on what continent; on what lake; or in what county?"
Other illustrations of vagueness coming from the use of words of too general a meaning are found in such questions as, What kind of man was George Washington?