Full Idea
We chose a standard grammar in which the simple sentences are got by predication, and all further sentences are generated from these by negation, conjunction, and existential quantification.
Gist of Idea
My logical grammar has sentences by predication, then negation, conjunction, and existential quantification
Source
Willard Quine (Philosophy of Logic [1970], Ch.3)
Book Reference
Quine,Willard: 'Philosophy of Logic' [Prentice-Hall 1970], p.36
A Reaction
It is interesting that we 'choose' our logic, apparently guided by an imperative to achieve minimal ontology. Of these basic ingredients, negation and predication are the more mysterious, especially the latter. Quine is a bit of an 'ostrich' about that.