Semantic features and semantic fields
In this exercise, identify a common semantic feature shared by all ten words in each group, and then highlight a distinguishing feature that separates list (a) from list (b) Note that feature F presents a nuanced, quasi-syntactic characteristic that may complicate the analysis.
Example: a widow, mother, sister, aunt, seamstress b widower, teacher, brother, uncle, tailor All of these words have the feature HUMAN.
The (a) words, but not the (b) words, all have the feature FEMALE
1 (a) bachelor, man, son, paperboy, warlock (b) bull, rooster, drake, ram, gander Feature all the words have Feature the (a) words have
2 (a) skate, ski, canoe, cycle, drive (b) walk, run, skip, jump, hop Feature all the words have
(3) If one knows the meaning of a word, is one therefore necessarily able to produce a clear and precise definition of its meaning? Yes / No
(4) Conversely, if several speakers can agree on the correct definition of a word, do they know its meaning? Yes / No
(5) Do you happen to know the meaning of the word ndoho in the Sar language of Chad, Central Africa? Yes / No
(6) Would a sensible way to find out the meaning of ndoho be to ask a speaker of Sar (assuming you could find one)? Yes / No
The term "ndoho" in the Sar language translates to "nine," making it a common word rather than a specialized one Therefore, a typical adult speaker of Sar would be a suitable individual to consult for the meaning of this term.
(8) If a native speaker of Sar insists that ndoho means nine
In a debate over the meaning of the term "ndoho," a Sar speaker asserts it refers to the number of digits on two hands minus one, while a renowned European professor of semantics, despite not speaking Sar, argues it translates to ten This raises the question of whom to trust: the native speaker or the academic expert?
In Exercise 6, participants are asked to determine if each pair of sentences conveys the same or different propositions For example, "Mary read the book" is equivalent to "The book was read by Mary," illustrating a passive versus active voice Similarly, "Fred took back the book" and "Fred took the book back" express the same action In contrast, "The cat chased the rat" differs from "The cat was chased by the rat," showcasing a shift in agency Lastly, "The chef cooked the meal" is distinct from "The chef had the meal cooked," highlighting different aspects of the cooking process This exercise emphasizes the importance of understanding sentence structure and meaning.
1 (a) lobster, shrimp, crab, oyster, mussel (b) trout, sole, herring, salmon, mackerel The (a) and (b) words are [+edible water animal]
2 (a) widow, mother, sister, aunt, seamstress (b) widower, father, brother, uncle, tailor The (a) and (b) words are _ The (a) words are The (b) words are
3 (a) bachelor, son, paperboy, pope, chief (b) bull, rooster, drake, ram, stallion The (a) and (b) words are _ The (a) words are The (b) words are
4 (a) table, pencil, cup, house, ship, car (b) milk, tea, wine, beer, water, soft drink The (a) and (b) words are _ The (a) words are
3 (a) book, temple, mountain, road, tractor
(b) idea, love, charity, sincerity, fear
Feature all the words have
4 (a) typewriter, pencil, ballpoint pen, word processor, chalk
(b) book, letter, encyclopedia, novel, notebook
Feature all the words have
5 (a) frisbee, disk, plate, pie, wheel
(b) globe, bulb, cone, cylinder, pipe
Feature all the words have
6 (a) milk, rice, lettuce, spaghetti, corn
(b) egg, carrot, cherry, noodle, pea
Feature all the words have
Exercise 2: For each group of words given below, state what semantic features are shared by the (a) words and the (b) words, and what semantic features
(b) fly, skate, ski, ride, cycle, canoe, hang-glide The (a) and (b) words are _ The (a) words are _ The (b) words are _
9 (a) ask, tell, say, talk, converse (b) shout, whisper, mutter, drawl, holler The (a) and (b) words are _ The (a) words are _ The (b) words are _
10 (a) alive, asleep, awake, dead, half-dead, pregnant (b) depressed, bored, excited, upset, amazed, surprised The (a) and (b) words are _ The (a) words are _ The (b) words are _
Exercise 3 : Identify the semantic features in each of the following words
5 (a) book, temple, mountain, road, tractor
(b) idea, love, charity, sincerity, bravery, fear
6 (a) rose, lily, tulip, daisy, sunflower, violet
(b) ash, oak, sycamore, willow, beech
(c) pine, cedar, jew, spruce, cypress
7 (a) book, letter, encyclopedia, novel, notebook, dictionary
(b) typewriter, pencil, ballpoint, crayon, quill, charcoal, chalk
8 (a) walk, run, skip, jump, hop, swim
In the realm of technology, key terms include software, modem, cursor, mouse, and monitor, which collectively enhance user experience Meanwhile, in the context of sports, words such as player, team, striker, ball, and off-side highlight the dynamics of gameplay The concept of strength is encapsulated by terms like power, hard, stiff, and enormous, emphasizing physical prowess Lastly, the mind-blowing and astonishing aspects are represented by the terms cosmonaut, spacious, orbit, and immense, reflecting the vastness of space exploration.
(5) How many potential referents are there for the expression the cat?
(1) In a conversation about a situation where John is standing alone in the corner, do ‘John’ and ‘the person in the corner’ have the same referent? Yes / No
In the scenario where Dick believes that John killed Smith and also believes that the person in the corner killed Smith, it is possible for one of these statements to be true while the other is false Specifically, if Dick is unaware that John is the individual in the corner, he could believe both statements without contradiction, allowing for the possibility that one belief could be accurate while the other is not.
(3) Is “Dick believes that killed Smith” an opaque context? Yes / No
The Morning Star and the Evening Star refer to the same celestial body, the planet Venus If Nancy expresses a desire to marry when the Morning Star is visible, it implies the same wish when she mentions the Evening Star, as both terms denote the same object in the sky Therefore, the statements about Nancy's wishes are indeed equivalent.
(5) Is Nancy wants to get married when is in the sky an opaque context? Yes / No
In a game of charades, the last banana on the table serves as the ultimate prize, yet Gary, who arrived late to the party, remains oblivious to this fact This scenario raises the question: do all participants share the same understanding of the prize's significance?
Sense and reference
In the context of expressions with constant reference, such as "the Sun" or "the Moon," one might wonder if a speaker can truly understand what these terms refer to by merely memorizing a fixed association between each term and its corresponding object The answer to this question is nuanced and invites further exploration.
Expressions with variable reference, like "the man" or "the middle of the road," raise the question of whether a speaker understands their meanings solely by memorizing a fixed link between each phrase and its corresponding referent The answer to this inquiry is complex and nuanced.
In a specific context, understanding that the phrase "the cat" does not refer to a man in an armchair, a book he holds, or a clock on the mantelpiece relies on contextual cues rather than memorized associations The interpretation is guided by the surrounding situation and linguistic context, allowing for clarity in meaning without relying solely on prior knowledge of the term.
In the context of variable reference expressions like "the cat," it is reasonable to suggest that a speaker has internalized a link between the expression and a category of possible referents.
(b) Reference is a relationship between certain uttered expressions and things in the world.
(c) Reference is a relationship between certain uttered expressions and certain things outside the context of the utterance.
(2) Which of the following is a correct statement about sense?
(a) All words in a language may be used to refer, but only some words have sense.
(b) If two expressions have the same reference, they always have the same sense.
(c) The sense of an expression is its relationship to semantically equivalent or semantically related expressions in the same language.
(3) How do hearers identify the referent of a referring expression (other than a proper name)?
(a) by seeking in the context of the utterance some object to which the predicates in the referring expression apply?
(b) by sharing with the speaker, a conventional system according to which each possible referring expression has a single agreed referent?
(c) by telepathy - reading the speaker’s mind?
(4) Which of the following words are predicates? Circle your choices Henry, square, expensive, and, under, not, love
‘Gary took the last banana’
‘Gary took the prize’ Yes / No
(7) Is “Gary took ”.an opaque context? Yes / No
Exercise 7: Is the universe of discourse in each of the following cases the real world (as far as we can tell) (R), or a (partly) fictitious world (F)?
(1) Newsreader on April 14 th , 1981: ‘The American space-shuttle successfully landed at Edwards Airforce Base,
(2) Mother to child: ‘Don’t touch those berries They might be poisonous’ R / F
(3) Mother to child: ‘Santa Claus might bring you a toy telephone’ R / F
(4) Patient in psychiatric ward: ‘As your Emperor, I command you to defeat the Parthians’ R / F
(5) Doctor to patient: ‘You cannot expect to live longer than another two months’ R / F
(6) Patient (joking bravely): ‘When I’m dead, I’ll walk to the cemetery to save the cost of a hearse’ R / F
Exercise 8: Choose the best answer
(1) Which of the following most appropriately describes reference? Circle your preference.
Reference establishes a connection between sentences and the world, relying on universally accepted conventions regarding word meanings in everyday English In each conversation, articulate a statement that clarifies the meaning of the word in question, which speaker B appears to reject.
(1) A: ‘I saw something strange in the garden this morning.’ B: ‘Oh! What was it?’
A: ‘An animal perched on top of the clothes pole.’
B: ‘How do you know it was an animal?’
A: ‘I saw it It was a cat.’
B: ‘You might have seen a cat, but how can you be sure it was an animal?’
A: ‘Well, of course it was an animal, if it was a cat.’ B: ‘I don’t see how that follows.’
(2) B: ‘My neighbor’s child is an adult.’
A: ‘You mean he was a child and is now grown up?’ B: ‘No He is still a child, even though he’s an adult.’
A: ‘You mean that he’s a child who acts in a very grown up way?’
B: ‘No He’s just an adult child, that’s all.’
(5) Which of the following is correct?
(a) The universe of discourse is a part of the context of an utterance.
(b) The context of an utterance is a part of the universe of discourse.
(c) The universe of discourse is the whole real world.
Exercise 9: Choose the correct answer
The cat from my childhood has passed away and been cremated, meaning it no longer exists in a physical sense However, it is still possible to refer to that cat in conversation, as memories and experiences associated with it remain significant.
(2) Does it follow that the extension of the predicate cat includes the cat I had as a child, which now no longer exists?
New cat breeds are constantly emerging, leading to the question of whether a speaker should continuously update their understanding of the overall category of cats to include these new additions.
It may be more reasonable to define extensions to encompass objects from the future, in addition to those from the present and past This broader perspective allows for a more comprehensive understanding of extensions across time.
(5) Is it possible to refer to the cat which you may own one day in the distant future, a cat which does not yet exist?
Exercise 10: Given below are three conversations which get stuck In each one, speaker B seems to ignore
Exercise 12: Identify the denotation and connotation meanings of the word “bug” in the following sentences: + This place is crawling with bugs!
+ He is as cute as a bug.
Exercise 13: Say whether the pairs of words in the curly brackets in the sentences below have approximately the same meaning (S) or a different meaning (D)
(2) It is (likely/probable) that Raymond will be here tomorrow S / D
(3) Your gatepost doesn’t seem to be quite (vertical/ upright) S / D
(4) He painted the fireplace (aquamarine/vermillion) S / D
(5) I’ll see you on (Wednesday/Thursday) S / D
Exercise 14: Answer the following questions
(1) When you look up the meaning of a word in a dictionary, what do you find there, its referent, or an expression with the same sense?
(2) Is a dictionary full of words or full of things, like a box or a sack?
B: ‘No, I didn’t say that Just that I killed it.’
A: ‘But if you killed it, it must be dead.’
B: ‘No I was quite careful about it I killed it very carefully so it’s not dead.’
Denotation and Connotation
Exercise 11: Below are groups of words which are often used to describe people What are the connotations of the words?
3 Relaxed, Laid-back, Lackadaisical, Easy-going
(a) a relationship between expressions and other expressions which have the same meaning
(b) the set of all objects which can potentially be referred to by an expression
(c) a relationship between a particular object in the world and an expression used in an utterance to pick that object out.
Figures of speech
Exercise 16 : Interpret the meaning the following sentences and state what kind of figures of speech (also called figurative language) used in each of them
1 Cancer finally caught up with her.
2 If you ride your motorbike at midday, the streets are a furnace.
3 The wind howled through the streets.
4 The chair protested against her weight
(3) Could a foreigner learn the meanings of his very first words of English by having their typical referents pointed out to him? Yes / No
(4) Could a foreigner learn the meanings of his very first words of English by looking them up in an English dictionary?
Exercise 15 : Answer the following questions:
(1) Give an example of an expression that might be used to refer to the President of the United States in 2007.
(2) Give an example of an expression that could have variable reference.
(3) Give an example of an expression that always (in normal everyday conversation) has constant reference.
(4) Give an example of different expressions having one referent.
(5) Give an example of an expression that has no reference.
(6) Which of the following is a correct description of
11 The rain hesitantly dropped on the leaves.
12 I’ll make him eat his words.
13 You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
14 He washed his hand out of the matter.
15 He looks as though he hasn’t a square meal for months.
16 “Education is our passport to the future, and tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” - Malcolm X, civil rights activist and writer
6 The office was flooded with applications.
7 He tried to take the heat out of the situation.
8 The neighbors agreed to a truce over their barbeque dispute.
9 He attacked every weak point in my arguments.
10 The police team has cemented close ties with the hospital staff.
21 “A good example is the best sermon.” -Ben Franklin, Founding Father, statesman, author, inventor
22 English is unrivaled as the most widely-spoken language in the world It is the sole or joint language of more nations and territories than any other tongue.
23 “Slang is ‘a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands, and goes to work.”-Carl Sandburg, poet
24 “I slept and dreamt that life was joy I awoke and saw that life was service.I acted, and behold, service was joy.”- Rabindranath Tagore, philosopher, author, Nobel laureate (1861-1941)
Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, famously stated, “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for it to kill your enemy.” This powerful quote reflects his belief in the destructive nature of holding onto anger and resentment, particularly after enduring 30 years of imprisonment for his anti-apartheid efforts After his release, Mandela played a crucial role in negotiating the end of apartheid, emphasizing the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation in overcoming past grievances.
17 “Education is our passport to the future, and tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” -Malcolm X, civil rights activist and writer
The computer has evolved into an extraordinary technological tool, akin to a Swiss Army knife, continually surpassing expectations Each discovery reveals its ability to perform tasks more efficiently, quickly, and accurately than before, showcasing its remarkable versatility and potential.
19 “Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest.” -Douglas Jerrold, playwright and humorist (1803-1857)
20 “Modern English is the Wal-Mart of languages: convenient, huge, hard to avoid, superficially friendly, and devouring all rivals in its eagerness to expand.” -Mark Abley, journalist (1955)
32 They speak like saints and act like devils.
33 How could he be a king, a soldier and a peon?
34 How high, his highness holds his haughty head.
35 The current financial situation make us let 200 workers go to cut costs.
36 The old, sick dog was put to sleep.
37 She was as proud as a peacock.
38 It crackled and growled and roared and howled.
26 The camel is the ship of the desert.
27 Death lays its icy hands on Kings.
28 Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale.
29 Variety is the spice of life.
31 Here is the smell of blood still; all the perfumes of
Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.
45 Speech is silver, silence is golden.
46 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
47 I am so hungry, I could eat a horse.
48 The road was a ribbon of moonlight, over the purple moor.
49 Oh judgment! Thou hast fled to brutish hearts And men have lost their reason.
50 The paper is as light as a feather.
39 He was conspicuous by his absence.
41 The troops were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions.
42 She dropped the pail and turned deathly pale.
43 When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land, it was like snow fallen on Zalmon.
44 Her conscious tail her joy declared.
57 Mom tore through my messy room looking for it.
58 The mayor’s voice was a strong weapon.
59 I’m getting married in the morning! Ding dong! The bells are gonna chime.
60 He fought until his last breath to protect his country.
51 The ocean was a raging bull.
52 An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
53 The streetlight was my security guard.
54 A gentle summer wind feels like a soft cotton sheet.
55 The ship plows the sea.
56 Her eyes shone like stars in the night sky.
(p) blood, sweat, and tears (q) an on-off relationship (r) The traffic is crawling.
(s) search one’s soul (t) Enough is enough.
(u) room and board (v) live on borrowed time (w) table linen
(x) an aide (y) The law is the law.
(z) be under the weather (aa) sell for money (bb) circumnavigate around (cc) working vacation (dd) close proximity (ee) extinct life
Exercise 17 : Identify the type of figurative expression in each of the following:
(b) an autobiography of her life
(k) The pen is mightier than the sword.
(m) “Death, thou shalt die” (John Donne)
9 ox, animal, beast of burden
Exercise 20 : Determine whether the following are cases of homonymy or polysemy: a fine
‘a sum of money paid as a penalty’
Word relations
Exercise 18: Draw a chart to show the relationship between a superordinate and a hyponym
Exercise 19 : Arrange the words in each group so that every word is hyponym of the word immediately before it:
‘the seed-bearing spike of a cereal plant’ i spell
‘to name or write the order of the letters in a word’
‘to hit with the head’
‘the larger or thicker end of an object’ k pilot
‘one who operates an aircraft or ship’
‘a television program produced as a prototype of a series’
Exercise 21: Give an antonym for the adjective in each of the following collocations:
‘an incline of land adjoining a river’
‘a device that receives video signals from a computer’ d tattoo
‘a permanent design on the skin’
‘a large group of fish’ f leech
‘a structure projecting from the head of an animal’
When someone states, "A man from Dundee stole my wallet," they typically expect the listener to recall a specific individual from Dundee and identify him based on previously known information.
(6) As question (5), but with the utterance, ‘The man from Dundee stole my wallet’ Yes / No
(7) Can a universe of discourse be partly fictitious? Yes / No
(8) If perfect communication is to take place between speaker and hearer on any topic, is it necessary that they share the same universe of discourse? Yes / No
Exercise 23 involves pairs of partial synonyms that can be used interchangeably in certain contexts For example, in the sentence "The teacher will assist the students," both "assist" and "help" can be used interchangeably However, in the sentence "The doctor will help with the diagnosis," only "help" is appropriate Another pair could be "advise" and "counsel," as in "She will advise him on his career choices," where both words fit, but in "The lawyer will counsel his client," only "counsel" is suitable This exercise highlights the nuances of language and the importance of context in word choice.
(1) Is an utterance tied to a particular time and place? Yes
(2) Is a sentence tied to a particular time and place? Yes /
(3) Circle the referring expressions in the following utterance: ‘Neil Armstrong was the first man on the Moon and became a hero’
(4) Who does ‘I’ refer to in the following utterance? ‘I will never speak to you again’
1 Give an example of a homonymous word and an example of a polysemous word Explain the homonymy and polysemy in each case by paraphrasing each understanding
A pair of words that share numerous semantic components is "vehicle" and "car," with "vehicle" being the more general term Another pair is "animal" and "dog," where "animal" is distinctly vaguer than "dog."
3 Below is a list of antonymic pairs Classify each pair into one of the following types of relation: complementaries (COM), polar antonyms (P), reverses (R), converses (CON), or taxonomic sisters (T)
_ messy/neat _ present/absent _ tea/coffee
_ advance/retreat _ boot/sandal _ friendly/hostile _ buyer/seller
5 Give an example of a superordinate term and some of its hyponyms
Exercise 24 : To sum up these exercises in antonymy and incompatibility, classify the following pairs as binary antonyms (B), multiple incompatibles (M), converses (C), or gradable antonyms (G)
(r) My brother is an only child.
(t) She wore a colorless pink dress.
(v) Othello killed Desdemona Desdemona died.
(w) He descended from the ground floor to the attic.
Exercise 27: Determine whether the following are cases of homonymy or polysemy.
‘a sum of money paid as a penalty’
(b) bank ‘an incline of land adjoining a river’
(c) monitor ‘a pupil who assists a teacher’
‘a device that receives video signals from a computer’
(d) tattoo ‘a permanent design on the skin’
(e) school ‘an institution for instruction’
Exercise 26: Describe the semantic relationship expressed by each of the following sentences
(a) I’m allergic to nuts There are walnuts in the cookies.
(b) Flight 2048 arrives and departs at 8:00 a.m.
(e) I appreciate your help You helped me.
(f) That is a well-known club.
(g) My brother married a doctor My male sibling joined in wedlock with a physician.
(j) Professor Mulhausen went to his office Professor
Mulhausen went to the university.
(k) He cleaned the legs of the piano.
(l) They have a love-hate relationship.
(m) The escaping convict accidentally assassinated the guard.
(n) Jane ate a piece of chicken Jane ate a piece of poultry.
(o) My husband is living I am a widow.
(p) She stepped on an idea.
6 dark (as in a dark room) and dark (as in Don’t look on the dark side of things):
7 wind (as in The wind is blowing hard) and wind (as in wind one’s watch):
14 sow (as in sow a field with wheat) sow (meaning a female pig):
15 pupil (at a school) pupil (of an eye):
Exercise 29 : Explain the semantic ambiguity in each of the following sentences by providing two sentences that paraphrase its two different meanings
The first one is done as an example
(g) horn ‘a structure projecting from the head of an animal’
(h) ear ‘the organ for hearing’
‘the seed-bearing spike of a cereal plant’
(i) spell ‘to name or write the order of the letters in a word’
(j) butt ‘to hit with the head’
‘the larger or thicker end of an object’
(k) pilot ‘one who operates an aircraft or ship’
‘a television program produced as a prototype of a series’
Exercise 28 focuses on identifying the relationships between pairs of words, specifically determining if they are antonyms and, if so, what type of antonyms they are The italicized words in brackets serve to clarify the meanings of the words in question This exercise aims to enhance vocabulary comprehension and deepen understanding of linguistic relationships.
The first one is done as an example
8 There was not a single man at the party.
9 They passed the port at night
10 The captain corrected the list
11 He was knocked over by the punch
12 The camel swallowed the chocolate and then ate it Meaning one: Meaning two:
13 The passerby helps dog bite victim.
1 They were waiting at the bank
Meaning one: They were waiting at the financial institution
Meaning two: They were waiting at the shore of the river
2 Young boys and girls love the adventure playground.
4 The lady hit the man with an umbrella.
5 He fed her cat food
6 When he got the clear title to the land, it was a good deed
7 The proprietor of the fish store was the sole owner
3 The boy swallowed the chocolate and then chewed it _
4 Babies can lift one ton
6 My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor
7 The bigger key and John opened the door
9 Jack’s courage chewed the bones
11 The tiger remained alive for an hour after the hunter killed it
14 Sarah gave a bath to her dog wearing a pink t-shirt.
15 I have never tasted a cake quite like that one before!
Exercise 30 : Explain the structural ambiguity in each of the following sentences:
1 The mother of the boy and the girl will arrive soon
2 He saw the petrol can explode
3 John told Jack that he had committed a crime
4 I’ll tell you when they arrive
5.Bill sold the car to his brother in Perth
7.I saw what he was talking about
8 Jill doesn’t like her husband, and neither does Sue
9 He is an American history teacher
10 John promised to behave himself at the party
Exercise 31: Explain the anomaly of each of the following sentences
Sentence types
Exercise 1 : Label the following sentences either T for true, F for false, or D for don’t know, as appropriate
(a) The Earth revolves around the Sun T / F / D (b) These babies are old men T / F / D
Tom is considered very handsome The Sun rises in the East Her presentation is highly praised Touching hot water would not make you feel cold Interestingly, Mary is older than her own mother.
(h) The man standing there is 65 years old T / F / D
(1) Were you able to assign T or F to all the above sentences? Yes / No
(2) Which of the sentences in (a)-(h) above would you say are true by virtue of the senses of the words in them?
15 Seven plus five equals twelve A / S / C
16 The blinds can see the way A / S / C
19 Mai is more beautiful than herself A / S / C
20 My mother is a married woman A / S / C
Exercise 3: Say whether the following pairs are contradictories (i.e contradict each other) or not Assume constancy of reference of all referring expressions
Bill was murdered by John Yes / No
John did not kill Bill Yes / No
James can’t swim Yes / No
Mary is Ann’s child Yes / No
(5) Room 404 is below this one.
Room 404 is above this one Yes / No
(6) This door handle is brass.
This door handle is plastic Yes / No
(3) Which of the sentences above would you say might be true or false as a matter of fact about the world?
Exercise 2 : Circle the following sentences A for analytic,
S for synthetic or C for contradiction, as appropriate
1 China is the country which has the most population A
2 Rose is a type of animal A / S / C
4 Sam’s wife is not German A / S / C
8 Mary’s sister will go to London next week A / S / C
10 Rose is one type of flower A / S / C
12 All of the students came to his party A / S / C
13 All triangles have three sides A / S / C
14 The table in my kitchen room is round.A / S / C
‘If you look up ochlocracy, you’ll find it means government by the mob.’ S/R
(3) Which of the following is correct? Circle your answer.
(a) The sense of any word is its dictionary definition, in the form of a complete set of necessary and sufficient conditions for its use.
(b) The sense of a predicate is the set of all things it can be correctly applied to.
(c) The sense of a predicate is its indispensable hard core of meaning.
(4) Are the following sentences analytic (A), synthetic (S), or a contradiction (C)?
(a) John is simultaneously a man and not a human being
A / S / C(b) Mussolini was an Italian A / S / C(c) Every female dog is a bitch A / S / C
Parapharse
Exercise 6: In the following sentences, do the capitalized pairs of words have the same (or very nearly the same) sense in the ways they are used here?
(1) The thief tried to CONCEAL/HIDE the evidence Yes / No
(2) I’m going to PURCHASE/BUY a new coat Yes / No
Exercise 4: Choose the best answer
(1) Does the analyticity of “That man is human.” depend in some crucial way on a semantic relationship between the sense of man and that of human? Yes / No
(2) Which of the following statements seems to express this semantic relationship between man and human correctly?
(a) The sense of man includes the sense of human.
(b) The sense of human includes the sense of man.
(c) The sense of man is identical to the sense of human.
(3) Does the semantic relationship that exists between man and human also exist between man and tall? Yes / No
The lack of a semantic relationship between "man" and "tall" explains why the statement "This man is tall" is not considered analytic, unlike the statement "This man is human."
Exercise 5 : Words such as mean, meaning, meant, etc are used ambiguously in everyday language to indicate either sense or reference
(1) Do the words mean and meant indicate sense (S) or reference (R) in the utterance:
‘I’m sorry to have disturbed you - when I said: ‘Will you move your chair?’, I didn’t mean you, I meant Patrick here.’
(2) Does the word means indicate sense or reference in:
James is the child of John P / NP
(2) John is the parent of James.
James is the parent of John P / NP
(3) My father owns this car.
This car belongs to my father P / NP
(4) The fly was on the wall.
The wall was under the fly P / NP
(5) Some countries have no coastline.
Not all countries have a coastline P / NP
(6) Fred sent Mary a new book.
Fred sent a new book to Mary P / NP
(7) Jerry took out the garbage.
Jerry took the garbage out P / NP
Exercise 9 : The following pairs are paraphrases of each other
Identify the way employed to paraphrase them
1 (a) Mary has submitted her enquiries many times to the council
1 (b) Mary’s enquiries have been submitted many times to the council.
(3) These tomatoes are LARGE/RIPE.Yes / No
(4) This is a very LOOSE/SHORT definition Yes / No
(5) You have my PROFOUND/DEEP sympathy Yes / No
(6) It is a very WIDE/BROAD street Yes / No
Exercise 7 : In the following sentences, do the pairs of words in capitals have the same sense? (They do seem to differ in their dialectal, stylistic, or social associations.)
Circle S for ‘same’ or D for ‘different’
(1) He comes to see us every FALL/AUTUMN S / D
(2) Nothing is more precious to us than our FREEDOM/
(3) The body was found in the BOOT/TRUNK of the car
(4) We’ve just bought a new HOUSE/APARTMENT S / D
(5) John got a bullet wound in his HEAD/GUTS S / D
(6) A BLOKE/CHAP I know has pickled onions for breakfast S / D
Exercise 8 requires you to determine if the given pairs of sentences are paraphrases of one another For each pair, indicate your answer by circling either P for paraphrase or NP for not a paraphrase, while keeping in mind that the referents of the names and other referring expressions remain unchanged.
(1) John is the parent of James.
9 (a) Giraffes like Acacia leaves and hay and they can consume 75 pounds of food a day
9 (b) A giraffe can eat up to 75 pounds of Acacia leaves and hay everyday.
10 (a) She designs clothes for adult male humans
10 (b) She designs clothes for men.
11 (a) It can be difficult to choose a suitable place to study English.
11(b) Selecting an appropriate place to learn English is sometimes hard.
12 (a) This software has a wide variety of applications.
12 (b) As we have seen, the use of the software is numerous.
13 (a) The majority of consumers prefer imported cars.
13 (b) Foreign cars are preferred by most of customers.
14 (a) Paraphrasing is a very important skill for most English tests.
14 (b) For many tests of English, being skillful at paraphrasing is extremely difficult.
15 (a) It took her 3 hours to get to the city centre
15 (b) She spent 3 hours getting to the city centre.
2 (b) The armed law officer shot the housebreaker.
3 (a) Watching television is not a waste of time
3 (b) Watching television is a good way to spend one’s time
4 (a) This product causes the break-down of excess body fat and will help people shed pounds.
4 (b) This product helps people lose weight by eliminating extra fat in the body.
5 (a) He was saddened by the news
6 (a) Mariah was rewarded as the best student this semester.
6 (b) They awarded Mariah as she was the best student this semester.
7 (a) Mariah was rewarded as the best student this semester
7 (b) Mariah, who was the outstanding student this semester, was rewarded
8 (a) They said that the sun moved around the earth, which are absolutely wrong.
8 (b) It is definitely untrue that the earth was orbited around by the sun.
22 (a) The wolf often hunts the deer.
22 (b) The hoofed grazing animal is often hunted by the wild carnivorous mammal of dog family.
23 (b) John was brought up by his uncle.
24 (a) They can’t buy that car because they don’t have enough money.
24 (b) They don’t have enough money to buy that car.
25 (a) Don’t forget that you need to bring your money, cash, passport for the trip tomorrow
25 (b) Bring money, cash, passport for the trip tomorrow.
26 (a) The graph shows the proportion of unemployment from different age groups.
26 (b) The bar chart illustrates the rate of unemployed people of different age groups.
Entailment
Exercise 10 : Look at the following and circle the statements of entailment as correct (C) or incorrect (I)
(1) John cooked an egg entails John boiled an egg C / I
(2) John boiled an egg entails John cooked an egg C / I
(3) I saw a boy entails I saw a person C / I
(4) John stole a car entails John took a car C / I
16 (a) Confidence is one of important keys to help you succeed
16 (b) Belief in yourself is necessary (for you) to achieve your goals
16 (c) One of important keys that help you succeed is confidence
16 (d) To succeed, you have to believe in yourself
17 (a) Many people don’t know English.
17 (b) Not all people know English.
18 (a) The view here is so nice.
18 (b) It is such a spectacular view.
19 (a) The gray clouds were a warning of an approaching storm
19 (b) The coming storm was forecast by the dark clouds.
20 (a) These businessmen have organized the business recently.
20 (b) The business has been organized by these entrepreneurs recently.
21 (a) We had a great time together even though it rained.
21 (b) In spite of rainy day, we had a wonderful time together.
2 (a) Mary is the most intelligent in my school.
2 (b) Mary is the most intelligent in my class.
12 (a) Ed sold a computer to Mark
12 (b) Mark bought a computer from Ed.
3 (a) I have difficulty in doing this research.
13 (a) Mai lost her wallet last week
13 (b) Mai lost something last week.
4 (a) My mom is doing something in the kitchen.
4 (b) My mom is cooking dinner in the kitchen.
5 (a) Our company has just exported a large number of cars to India.
5 (b) India has imported a large number of cars from our company.
15 (a) My mother has bought meat and eggs.
15 (b) My mother has bought food.
16 (b) No one failed the exam
(5) His speech disturbed me entails His speech deeply disturbed me C / I
Exercise 11 : Look at the following pairs of sentences and see if they have the same set of entailments (Ye s) or not
(No) (i.e see if they are paraphrases of each other)
(1) No one has led a perfect life.
Someone has led a perfect life (Yes / No)
(2) We’ve just bought a dog.
We’ve just bought something (Yes / No)
(3) The house was concealed by the trees.
The house was hidden by the trees (Yes / No)
I went to the house (Yes / No)
(5) It is hard to lasso elephants.
Elephants are hard to lasso (Yes / No)
Exercise 12: Use to show one-way entailment and to show two-way entailment in each of the following pairs of sentences:
1 (a) Jessi got a luxury present from Terry
1 (b) Terry give Jessi a luxury present.
11(b) Someone/Eliza plays a musical instrument
(b) Given two sentences A and B, identical in every way except that A contains a word X where B contains a different word Y, and Y is a hyponym of X, then sentence A entails sentence B.
(c) Given two sentences A and B, identical in every way except that A contains a word X where B contains a different word Y, and X is a hyponym of Y, then sentence A entails sentence B.
(1) What is the relationship between the A sentences and the B sentences below?
Henry was not chewing a tulip.
Denis didn’t get savaged by a Animal.
David didn’t steal a pound of beef.
Mary didn’t climb through a square hole in the roof.
Henry was not chewing a flower.
Denis didn’t get savaged by an sheep.
David didn’t take a pound of beef.
Mary didn’t climb through a rectangular hole in the roof.
7 (a) She is in the same class with me
7 (b) she is in the same school with me.
17 (a) Lary has borrowed money from Tim since Monday.
17 (b) Tim has lent money to Lary since Monday.
18 (b) It was Sharon that I saw at the party
9 (a) It is 30 miles to the nearest post office.
9 (b) The nearest post office is 30 miles away
19 (a) My mother was married to my father 25 years ago.
19 (b) My father married my mother 25 years ago.
10 (a) My brother is a math teacher
10 (b) My brother works at an educational institution.
20 (a) I and my wife sell that house for John.
20 (b) John buys that house from I and my wife
Exercise 13: Given below are three attempts at stating this rule Only one of them is actually correct Which is the correct rule? Circle your choice
(a) Given two sentences A and B, identical in every way except that A contains a word X where B contains a different word Y, and X is a hyponym of Y, then sentence B entails sentence A.
(c) The second entails the first.
(d) The first is a hyponym of the second.
(4) Which of the following statements is correct?
(a) All analytic sentences are paraphrases of each other. (b) All contradictions are paraphrases of each other.
(c) Given two sentences, identical except that one has a predicate X where the other has a predicate Y, where X is a hyponym of Y, then the sentence containing X is a paraphrase of the sentence containing Y.
(d) If a sentence X entails a sentence Y and sentence Y also entails sentence X, then X and Y are paraphrases of each other.
(5) Which of the following is correct?
(a) Synonymy is to entailment as hyponymy is to paraphrase.
(b) Synonymy is to paraphrase as hyponymy is to entailment.
(c) Synonymy is to hyponymy as entailment is to paraphrase.
Exercise 16 requires the phonemic transcription of two members from each of the provided pairs of words to identify them as homonyms The italicized words in brackets serve to clarify the meanings in question for the given words.
To complete the rule of sense inclusion for negative sentences, consider two negative sentences A and B, which are identical in every aspect except that sentence A includes a word X In this case, the inclusion of word X in sentence A signifies that the meaning of A encompasses the meaning of B, thereby establishing that A implies B This principle highlights how the presence of specific words can alter the interpretation of negative statements while maintaining their overall coherence.
B contains a different word Y, and X is a hyponym of Y, then
(1) Analyticity is which of the following? Circle your choice.
(2) The sentence “John is older than himself” is:
(3) The relationship between the sentences “I detest semantics.” and “I am not fond of semantics.” is that:
(a) They are paraphrases of each other.
(b) The first entails the second.
7 lead (as in Does this road lead to town) lead (as in He’s the chief trouble-maker; the others just follow his lead)
Exercise 17 : What sense relation holds between the two sentences in each of the following pairs:
(1) a Mary broke the window vs The window broke b Sue and Fred went to the party vs Sue went to the party
1(a) Tom is married to Mary
1(b) Mary is married to Tom
6(a) Jim is fatter than Ed and Ed is fatter than Bob 6(b) Jim is fatter than Bob
2(a) John is the father of Neil
2(b) Neil is the father of John
7(a) Some of the students came to my party
7(b) Not all of the students came to my party
8(a) The fly was over the wall
8(b) The wall was under the fly
The first one is done as an example
1 lie1 (meaning tell lies) lie 2 (meaning put one’s body on a horizontal surface)
The term "lie" can refer to two distinct actions: the first, pronounced /laɪ/, means to tell falsehoods, while the second, also pronounced /laɪ/, signifies the act of placing one's body in a horizontal position Both meanings are categorized as homonyms in Received Pronunciation (RP).
2 bat (meaning a tool for hitting in baseball) bat (meaning the small mouse-like animal that flies at night and feeds on fruit and insects)
3 too (meaning more than should be) too (meaning also) _
4 might (meaning great strength or power) might (expressing possibility)
5 bare (meaning without the usual covering or protection) bare (meaning uncover or reveal something)
6 sound (meaning thing that can be heard) sound (meaning healthy or in good condition)
UTTERANCE MEANING
Presupposition
Exercise 1 : The following sentences make certain presuppositions Indicate which of the given candidate inferences are presuppositions? a Would you mind washing up the dishes this time?
There are dishes that need to be washed up.
I do not have time to do the dishes.
The dishes needed to be washed up before.
Someone didn’t wash up the dishes the last time they needed to be washed up. b I want more milk for my tea!
7 ‘Sally renewed her subscription to People magazine.’ The utterance presupposes that _
Exercise 3 : Identify the presupposition(s) in each of the following sentences
1 “John regrets that he stopped doing linguistics before he left Cambridge.”
2 “What Bill lost was/wasn’t his wallet.”
4 ‘When did she travel to the USA?’
7 ‘We imagined that we were in London.’
8 ‘If you were my daughter, I would not allow you to do this.’
Someone has already put milk in his/her tea.
I do not like my tea with the amount of milk that is cur- rently in the tea. c Alex’s wife has called
Alex’s wife has called the speaker.
Exercise 2 : Say what is presupposed by each of the following sentences
1 Is Frank playing that loud music?
2 What I want for my birthday is a new computer
4 ‘Alistair didn’t go to work today.’
5 ‘Grace stopped playing the piano several years ago.’
6 ‘When did Tara go back to school?’
20 ‘I wasn’t aware that she was married.’
21 ‘Germany did not win the world cup.’
23 ‘If I were you, I wouldn’t act in such a showy way.’ The utterance presupposes that _
25 ‘If Cleopatra’s nose had been longer, the history of the world would have been different.’
26 ‘Vincent does not like his wife.’
27 ‘My sister in law bought/didn’t buy a new pair of shoes.’ The utterance presupposes that _
28 ‘I don’t know that you have an appointment with your attorney next week.’
29 ‘He missed out on his piano lessons again.’
9 ‘John’s wife works for Al-Tahrir Company.’
10 ‘Nobody realized that Kelly was unhappy.’
11 ‘It’s so sad Blaine regrets getting Laura pregnant.’
12 ‘The book you took from the teacher is interesting.’
13 ‘We regret telling him the truth.’
14 ‘She cried before going out.’
16 ‘It isn’t odd that he left early.’
17 ‘He managed to loan a large sum of money from the bank.’
18 ‘It is going to rain for a long time.’
39 ‘John’s donkey is eating quietly in the stable.’ The utterance presupposes that _
40 ‘Butch did not talk to the boss.’
Exercise 4 : Which of the following utterances share the same presupposition?
(1) ‘The book you took from the teacher is interesting.’
(2) ‘I didn’t understand why you took the book from the teacher.’
(3) ‘When did you take the book from the teacher?’
(4) ‘See that you take back the book you took from the teacher.’
(5) ‘I wonder how you took the book from the teacher.’
(6) ‘What an interesting book you took from the teacher?’
(7) ‘Why did you take the book from the teacher?’
Implicature
Exercise 5 : Write down one implicature that can be drawn from the second speaker’s response in each of the following conversations:
(1) Mary: ‘Can you lend me your bike?’
Jim: ‘It’s in the garage.’
30 ‘What have you been doing last night at the cemetery?
31 ‘I wish I would have won the 6-million-dollar jackpot last night.’
32 ‘I am dreaming of living in a bigger house.’
33 ‘If I would be in your position I would use this inherited money are start all over again.’
34 ‘That John was assaulted scared Mary.’
35 ‘Is John not aware that Mary is pregnant?’
36 ‘It is possible that Clinton will return to Arkansas?’
38 ‘Who was that pretty girl sitting beside you at the hair salon?’
Alvin’s utterance may implicate that _
(7) Mat: ‘What’s the weather going to be like today?’ Bob: ‘You should bring your umbrella.’
Bob’s utterance may implicate that _
(8) Carmen: ‘A: Can I get petrol somewhere around here?’
Maria: ‘There’s a garage around the corner.’
Patricia’s utterance may implicate that _
(9) Robert: ‘Uncle buck is coming for dinner.’
Gabriela: ‘I’d better lock up the liquor.’
Gabriela’s utterance may implicate that _
(10) Student: Was Mozart born in France?
Teacher: Was Napoleon born in China?
Teacher’s utterance may implicate that _
(11) Austin: ‘Have you cleared the table and washed the dishes?’
Jim’s utterance may implicate that
(2) Steve: ‘Do you want to go to the movies tonight?’
Jane: ‘My little sister is coming for a visit.’
Jane’s utterance may implicate that
(3) A: Sally be at the meeting this afternoon?
Robin: ‘There’s a yellow VW outside Sue’s house.’
Robin’s utterance may implicate that
(5) Student: ‘A: Tehran’s in Turkey, isn’t it, teacher?’
Teacher: ‘And London’s in Armenia, I suppose.’
Teacher’s utterance may implicate that
(6) Gwen: ‘What qualities does John have for this position?’
Alvin: ‘John has nice handwriting.’
(16) Liza: ‘Are you going to the party tonight.’
Ed’s utterance may implicate that _
(17) A: ‘What are the Nelsons like?’
(18) A: ‘What is this examination in English like?’
B: ‘It is so easy this time.’
(19) A: ‘Did you get the milk and the eggs?’
(20) A: ‘Did Laura like the party?’
B: ‘She left after an hour.’
Jenny: ‘I’ve cleared the table.’
Jenny’s utterance may implicate that
(12) Alice: ‘Would you recommend Mr Smith for the job?’
Max: ‘Mr Smith is an excellent tennis player and has always been polite.’
Max’s utterance may implicate that
(13) Phil’s mother: ‘Is Karl a good philosopher?’
Phil: ‘He’s got a beautiful handwriting.’
Phil’s utterance may implicate that
Mother: ‘How is your homework getting along, Paul?’
Mother’s utterance may implicate that
(15) Tom: ‘Have you seen any of Shakespeare’s plays.’
Janet: ‘I’ve seen some of them.’
Janet’s utterance may implicate that
Student: ‘It is 10: 44 and 35.6 seconds.’
(7) Policeman [at the front door]: ‘Is your father or your mother at home?’
Small boy [who knows that his father is at home]:
‘Either my mother’s gone out shopping or she hasn’t.’ _
(8) Mother: ‘Now tell me the truth Who put the ferret in the Bathtub?’
Son [who knows who did it]: ‘Someone put it there.’ _
Exercice 7 : Each of B’s utterances below would probably give rise to a conversational implicature Say what the implicature would be, and identify the rule of conversation involved (In one case a clash between two rules is involved.)
1 A: Do you want to go to the movies tonight?
B: My little sister is coming for a visit
B: Either Kalamazoo or Grand Rapids.
4 A: Are you going to wear that outfit?
B: No, I thought I’d go naked today.
Exercise 6 : In each case below decide which maxim has not been observed and what conversational implicature might be drawn Background information is given in square brackets
(2) A: ‘Would you like a cocktail? It’s my own invention.’
B: ‘Well, mmm uh it’s not that we don’t drink.’
(4) A: ‘We’re going to the movies.’
B: ‘I’ve got an exam tomorrow.’
(5) A: ‘Are you going to Steve’s barbecue?’
B: ‘A barbecue is an outdoor party.’
(6) Teacher [towards the end of a lecture]: ‘What time is it?’
(9) A: ‘How do you like your bath?’
B: ‘Warm.’ (I don’t like it hot.)
(10) A: ‘What do you think of this necklace and bracelet?’
B: ‘The bracelet is beautiful.’ (The necklace is not beautiful.)
(11) A: ‘Has the kitchen been painted?’
(12) A: ‘How come Mary’s all dressed up?
B: ‘We’re going to the D-E-N-T-I-S-T.’ (Mary hates the dentist.)
B: ‘When did Alex fix it?’ (Alex fixed it.)
Speech acts
Exercise 9 : Give a situation in which each of the following utterances occurs, interpret its meaning and then classify it according to different types of speech acts
1 ‘Why don’t you spend less time watching TV?’
2 ‘I advise you to stop smoking.’
3 ‘I swear I won’t see Martha again.’
5 ‘I forbid you to leave your room.’
Exercise 8 : In each of the following decide whether each of the inferences in brackets is a presupposition (P) or an implicature (I) derived from the underlined utterance
(1) A: ‘My girlfriend lives in New York.’
B: ‘My girlfriend lives in Boston.’ (I have a girlfriend.)
B: ‘Why are you laughing at me?’ (You are laughing at me.)
(3) A: ‘Why is she eating those?’
B: ‘Her father didn’t give her any supper.’ (She didn’t have any supper.)
B: ‘He’s bought a ring.’ (John is engaged.)
B: ‘I managed to pass the exam.’ (I tried to pass the exam.)
(6) A: ‘Did you finish that report?’
B: ‘I started it.’ (I didn’t finish it.)
Virginia: ‘Why do you always lie?’ (You always lie.)
B: ‘She discovered that her central heating is broken.’
(Her central heating is broken.)
25 ‘Did you know that Allison is going to Europe this summer?’
26 ‘You’ll be happy to know that the work will be finished tomorrow.’
28 ‘Can you tell me how much that costs?’
30 ‘I can’t believe how much nerve that guy has.’
Exercise 10: For each of the following utterances, provide two situations so that one utterance performs two different acts Interpret the utterances and identify the acts performed in the light of the situations you provide
1 ‘Do you feel better today?’
6 ‘Why don’t you stop hitting your brother?’
8 ‘I guarantee you a seat at next Blue Jay’s game.’
9 ‘Would you pass the salt?’
10 ‘I warn you to stay away from my wife.’
11 ‘I suggest you go to the movies.’
12 ‘I order you to leave right now.’
13 ‘Would you like me to give you a ride home?’
14 ‘What is his e-mail address?’
15 ‘I would appreciate it if you could do the dishes.’
16 ‘I’d be honored if you came to my party next week.’
17 ‘It’s obvious that Bill is going to be late for his interview.’
19 ‘Can you shut the door when you leave?’
20 ‘Why don’t we go to the nice Italian restaurant near the museum?’
21 ‘I hereby apologize sincerely for my rude behavior last night.’
22 ‘Would you mind getting us an extra menu?’
23 ‘I promise never to touch another glass of booze.’
24 ‘Can’t you sit still for a minute?’
(1) Mrs Smith’s neighbor: ‘I was so sorry to hear about your loss.’
Mrs Smith: ‘Thank you It was a great shock, but I must get used to it.’
(2) A: ‘Would you like a cup of coffee?’
(3) Son: ‘Can I go out for a while, Mum?’
Mother: ‘You can play outside for half an hour.’
Exercise 12 : Are the following utterances performative (P) or constative (C)?
2 ‘I BELIEVE in the dictatorship of the Proletariat.’ P / C
5 ‘I hereby INFORM you that you are sacked.’ P / C
6 ‘I GIVE you supper every night.’ P / C
7 ‘I WARN you not to come any closer.’ P / C
8 ‘I TRY to get this box open with a screwdriver.’ P / C
9 ‘I PRONOUNCE you man and wife.’ P / C
10 ‘I SENTENCE you to be hanged by the neck.’ P / C
Exercise 13: Also note that the most reliable test to determine whether an utterance is performative is to insert the word hereby and see if the modified utterance
8 ‘I’m very upset that so many of you are talking.’
9 ‘Be aware of the road.’
10 ‘What else do you want?’
Exercise 11 : Using the locution, illocution, perlocution analysis, analyze the underlined utterance in each of the following dialogues have the same written form but have different and forms
3 A is a sentence that is necessarily false, as a result of the senses of the words in it
4 Hyponymy is a relation in which the of a word is totally included in the of another word
5 A is an ideal string of words put together by the grammatical rules of a language
6 _ is a relation in which two words have different (written and sound) forms and are opposite in meaning
7 A proposition is that part of the meaning of the _ of a declarative sentence which describes some state of affairs
8 Homophony is a relation in which various words have the _ sound form but have _ meanings and written forms
9 An is the use by a particular speaker, on a particular occasion, for a particular purpose, of a piece of language, such as a sequence of sentences, or a single phrase, or even a single word
10 The _ of a word or an expression is the relationship between that word or expression and the thing, the action, the event, the state of affairs, etc it refers to
11 _ is a violation of semantic rules to create nonsense is acceptable Can hereby be acceptably inserted in the following utterances?
1 ‘I ( ) GIVE notice that I will lock these doors in 60 seconds.’ Yes/No
2 ‘I ( ) PROMISED him that I would be at the station at 3:00 pm.’ Yes/No
3 ‘It ( ) GIVES me great pleasure to open this building.’
4 ‘I ( ) WARN you not to talk to my sister again.’
5 ‘I ( ) WARN you that you will fail.’ Yes/No
6 ‘They ( ) WARN her that she will fail.’ Yes/No
7 ‘I ( ) COMMAND you to teach first-year Semantics.’
8 ‘Tokyo ( ) IS the captain of Japan.’ Yes/No
9 ‘I ( ) ASK you to mind your head.’ Yes/No
10 ‘I ( ) BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty,
Creator of Heaven and Earth.’ Yes/No
Exercise 14 : Fill in each of the blanks with an appropriate word
The first one is done as an example
1 Semantics is a branch of linguistics which deals with meaning
2 Homography is a relation in which various words languages, there are words which tend to go with others The relation between these is described as (4) _. b Hyponymy can be defined in terms of (5) _ which means the meaning of one member is “in” the other The hyponym is the one whose (6) _ meaning is narrowed enough to (7) _ by that of the (8) _ The (9) _ meaning of this is more (10) _ than that of the hyponym, i.e it is “in” that of hyponym.
Exercise 16: Which of the following are factive and which are nonfactive?
(a) John criticized Mark for not working hard enough.
(b) John acknowledged that Mark was not working hard enough.
(c) I was hoping that the game was cancelled.
(d) It turns out that the game was cancelled.
(e) The student forgot that the assignment was due today.
(f) The student assumed that the assignment was due today.
(g) It’s nice that you could get away.
(h) It’s nice to get away.
(i) I realized that he had stolen the money.
(j) I suspected that he had stolen the money.
12 Semantic features are the _ units of meaning in a word
13 _ is relations in which various words have the same (sound and written) form but have different meanings
14 Any ambiguity resulting from the ambiguity of a word is ambiguity
15 Partial _ is a relation in which a polysemous word shares one of its meanings with another word
16 A sentence is considered as ambiguous when its structure permits more than one interpretation
17 is a relation in which a single word has two or more slightly different but closely related meanings
18 An _ sentence is one that is necessarily true, as a result of the senses of the words in it
19 _ meaning is context-free whereas pragmatic meaning is context-dependent
20 _ is a relation in which various words have different (written and sound) forms but have the same or nearly the same meaning
21 A _ performs some act and simultaneously describes that act
Exercise 15 : Fill in the blank with one suitable word a (1) _ sense relations are those existing between lexical items of identical grammatical (2) _ and they can be used (3) _ in English as well as in other
(r) The doctor prescribed bed rest.
(t) Are there any requirements for this course?
Exercise 18: In some cases below, the second sentence is semantically related to the first (an entailment and/or a presupposition) In other cases, it is a (generalized) conversational implicature (+>) Identify the latter cases
(a) Hank was sorry that it rained It rained.
(b) Some of my friends like fudge Some of my friends don’t like fudge.
(c) Sue remembered to call Sue was planning to call. (d) Jane managed to shut the door It was difficult for Jane to shut the door.
(e) Jill went into a nearby house The house was not her house.
(f) Even Fred passed Fred was least likely to pass.
(g) The movie is OK The movie is not fantastic. (h) Bill took off his hat and sat down Bill took off his hat before he sat down.
(i) It continued to rain It had been raining.
Using the inherent features of nouns discussed in the chapter, analyze the underlined noun in each of the following sentences:
(a) Have you made plans for tonight?
(b) He had the flu last week.
(c) The group made its way through the forest.
(d) He has a very healthy appetite.
(e) We have managed to stay within our budget.
(f) She spilled the coffee grounds on the floor.
(g) Have you any grounds for making such a claim?
(h) After the long boat trip, it felt good to stand on solid ground.
(j) My grandparents are coming for visit.
(k) A herd of caribou crossed the road.
(l) Our vacation begins next week.
(m) She has symptoms of the flu.
(n) You should take responsibility for the planning.
(o) The scenery here is so beautiful.
(q) My clothes need to ironed.
2 What is figure of speech? Make a distinction between metaphor and simile and give examples (10 pts)
3 Can you name 3 types of sentences? Give one example for each type (10 pts)
Division of Linguistics and Translation
FINAL SAMPLE TEST Time allowance: 60’
Note: To present your answers, use the space provided only.
1 Can you name 6 main types of speech acts? Give 3 examples for 3 different types (10 pts)
4 Look at the dog with one eye.
5 He fed her cat food
6 Interpret the meaning of the following sentences and state what kind of figures of speech used in each of them?
1 Most of the students think the next exam will be a piece of cake so they spend time on relaxing.
2 “Susan, in this financial crisis, I am afraid that my company have to let you go.”
4 Fill in each of the blanks with an appropriate word
The first one is done as an example (10pts)
Eg: Semantics is a branch of linguistics which deals with meaning.
1 The of a word or an expression is the relationship between that word or expression and the thing, the action, the event, the state of affairs, etc it refers to.
2 A is that part of the meaning of the utterance of a declarative sentence which describes some state of affairs
3 _ is a relation in which various words have the same sound form but have different meanings and written forms
4 _ is a relation in which the referent of a word is totally included in the referent of another word.
5 A sentence is considered as _ ambiguous when its structure permits more than one interpretation
5 Explain the ambiguity in each of the following sentences by providing two sentences that paraphrase its two different meanings (10 pts)
1 John pays more attention the lecture than Jane
2 Harry isn’t coming to the party Tell Joe that we’ll see him next week
B: “I would sell it if I were you.”
B: “Yes, I’m looking for some cheap shoes.”
5 A: “Can you set the table, please?”
8 Interpret the meaning of the utterance in italic and classify it according to different types of speech acts (10 pts)
1 A: “I was so sorry to hear about your loss.”
B: “Thank you for your great sympathy.”
2 Son: “What does the sign say, Mom?”
Mother: “Keep off the grass.”
3 I have four mouths to feed at home.
4 “Oh great! Now you have broken my new camera.”
5 His parents bought him a new set of wheels.
7 Interpret the meaning of the utterance in italic and classify it according to different types of speech acts (10 pts)
1 A: “I was so sorry to hear about your loss.”
B: “Thank you for your great sympathy.”
2 Son: “What does the sign say, Mom?”
Mother: “Keep off the grass.”
3 A: “My car breaks down again.”
5 “How long have you been in Paris?”
10 Write down one implicature that can be drawn from the second speaker’s response in each of the following conversations (15 pts)
1.A: “I hear you’re always late for the class.”
B’s utterance may implicate that 2.A: “Have you brushed your teeth and tidied your room?” B: “I’ve tidied my room.”
3 A: Would you like to go to the movies tonight?”
B: “I’ve got an exam tomorrow.”
B’s utterance may implicate that 4.A: “What subjects is Jack taking?”
5 Mother: “Now tell me the truth Who hid my money?” Son [who knows who did it]: “Someone hid your money.” Son’s utterance may implicate that
6 A: “Did you finish that assignment?”
3 A: “My car breaks down again.”
B: “I would sell it if I were you.”
B: “Yes, I’m looking for some cheap shoes.”
B: “Thank you for your warning!”
9 Identify the presupposition(s) in each of the following sentences (5pts)
1 “I wish I would have won the 6 million-dollar-jackpot last night.”
2 “My sister-in-law didn’t buy a new pair of shoes.”
3 “If I were you, I wouldn’t act in such a showy way.’
4 “Did John not aware that Mary is pregnant?
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO SEMANTICS 5
2.1 Semantic features and semantic fields 11
7 A: “Did Mary like the party?”
B: “She left after an hour.”
8 A: “Did you buy the car?”
B: “It cost twice as much as I thought it would.”
9 A: “‘Has the kitchen been painted?”
10 A: “Did you manage to fix that printer?”