KEY.PRACTICE.4

KEY.PRACTICE.
4 (SEMANTICS)
I. Mark (√) each of the following sentences true (T) or false (F). (1.0 mark)
TRUE FALSE
1. The relatedness of meaning found in polysemy is essentially √

based on similarity.
2. Both of John’s parents are married to aunts of mine is in a √

sense contradictory, describing an impossible situation.
3. If two words look alike, they are called homophones. √
4. Fred in ‘There’s no Fred at this address’ is not a referring √

expression.
5. And has sense in the same way that cat has sense. √
6. Herod gave a nice present is not an elliptical sentence. √
7. In general, adjectives and verbs can be used as referring √

expressions.
8. The presence of a predicate in a referring expression helps the √

hearer to identify the referent of a referring expression.
9. Hyponymy and synonymy are sense relations between √

predicates. The latter is a special, symmetric, case of the
former.
10. If two expressions have the same referent, they always have √
the same sense.
II. Use an appropriate word or phrase to complete the following sentences. (1.0 mark)
1. A man can be used as a referring expression or a non-referring expression, depending on
the context.
2. Synonyms are two or more forms with very closely related meanings, which are often,
but not always intersubstitutable in sentences.
3. When the same linguistic expression refers to different referents, it has variable
reference.
4. The sense of man includes the sense of human.
5. Offer in the sentence I was offered a job is a ……three.-place predicate.
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6. Some sentences are grammatically ambiguous in that the meanings of their component
words can be combined in more than one way.
7. Binary antonyms are predicates which come in pairs and between them exhaust all the
relevant possibilities.
8. The term homonymy is used when one form (written or spoken) has two or more
unrelated meanings.
9. Proper names can’t be used as predicators.
10. Reference is the relation between linguistic expressions and entities, situations or
properties in the outside world.
III. Arrange the words in each group so that every word is a hyponym of the word
immediately before it. (1.0 mark)
Example: husband, human, man> human, man, husband
1. creature, living things, dog, animal > living things, creature, animal, dog
2. entity, student, freshman, person> entity, person, student, freshman
3. product, tool, thing, garden tool> thing, product, tool, garden tool.
4. plant, pine, living things, tree, > living things, plant, tree, pine
5. coffee mug, mug, drinking vessel> drinking vessel, mug, coffee mug
6. carrot, plant, living things, vegetable > living things, plant, vegetable, carrot
7. cook, sauté, fry> cook, fry, sauté
8. green vegetable, cabbage, vegetable> vegetable, green vegetable, cabbage
9. product, saw, hacksaw, tool> product, tool, saw, hacksaw
10. thing, building, structure, house > thing, structure, building, house
IV. Classify the following pairs as gradable antonyms (G), binary antonyms (B),
relational/converse antonyms (R/C), homonyms (H), hyponyms (HY), or synonyms (S).
(1.5 marks)
1 manly-virile S 11 fixed- loose B
2 long-short G 12 obey-disobey B
3 long-extended S 13 rye-wry H
4 employer-employee C 14 yang-yin B
5 meat-beef HY 15 go down-descend S
6 lend- borrow C

7 husband-wife C
8 arms-alms H
9 mug- beer mug HY
10 slow-fast G
V. Tick (√) each of the following sentences (A) for analytic, (S) for synthetic or (E) for
equative, as appropriate. (1.0 mark)
A S E
1 Mrs. Laura is my lecturer. √
2 John’s nine-year-old brother is a boy. √
3 Sam’s wife is not German. √
4 Sam’s wife is married. √
5 This is my father. √
6 My watch is slow. √
7 If it breaks, it breaks. √
8 That man who walks fast is my brother. √
9 My watch is a device for telling the time. √
10 George Washington was the first president. √
VI. Which of the semantic relations (paraphrase (P), entailment (E), contradiction (C) is
exemplified in each of the following sentences? (1.0 mark)
Example: That man is a woman. > C (contradiction)
1. My brother is jealous of me because I am an only child. > C

2. Nobody goes to the restaurant because it’s too crowded. > C
3. Alan lives in Hanoi. Alan lives in Vietnam. > E
4. He has tons of stuff to throw away. He needs to get rid of a lot of junk. > P
5. Giraffes like Acacia leaves and hay, and they can consume 75 pounds of food a day. A
giraffe can eat up to 75 pounds of Acacia leaves and hay daily.> P
6. Elisa plays the guitar. Someone plays a musical instrument. > E
7. Jack put off the meeting. Jack postponed the meeting. > P
8. Jack swims beautifully. Jack swims . > E
9. Let me say again: I never repeat myself. > C

10. Children may feed animals. Children have permission to feed animals. > P
VII.Explain by paraphrasing two meanings of each of the following sentences.

Example: I’m selling five day old chicks. (1.5 marks)
a) I’m selling five day-old chicks.
b) I’m selling five-day-old chicks.
1. The people who saw the movie frequently praised it.

1a) The people who frequently saw the movie praised it.
1b) The people who saw the movie praised it frequently.
2. The hostess greeted the girl with a smile.
2a) The hostess greeted the girl who smiled.
2b) With a smile, the hostess greeted the girl.
3. The architect gave the secretary a rise after she typed the report.
3a) The architect gave the secretary a rise after the architect typed the report.
3b) The architect gave the secretary a rise after the secretary typed the report.
4. He stood watching the fireworks in the backyard.
4a) In the backyard, he stood watching the fireworks.
4b) He stood watching the fireworks which took place/ were in the backyard.
5. We were late but the coach was late too.
5a) We were late but the bus was late too.
5b) We were late but the person who trains sportsmen and women was late too.
VIII. Briefly explain the following questions. (1.0 mark)
1. Is there something odd about the following sentences?

The television drank my water.
His dog wrote poetry. > Yes, they sound unacceptable.
Drink > + animate > the television > - animate/ + inanimate > The television > can’t go
with drink
Write > + human> his dog > - human > His dog > can’t go with write
2. Is John in ‘John is my best friend’ a referring expression?
Yes, it is a referring expression because John refers to a particular man (my best
friend).
3. Are there any referring expressions in ‘A dog is an animal’?

No, there aren’t any referring expressions in the above sentence because this a generic
sentence. A generic sentence is used to refer to a class of things, not to a particular
member of a class.
4. Do the following words refer to things in the world?
near, nice, go, the, and, probable, but
No, they can’t be used to refer to things in the world because they have sense but no
reference.
5. Can different expressions have the same referent?

Yes, different expressions can refer to the same referent. The Morning Star, the
Evening Star, Venus are different expressions which can be used to refer to the same
referent/star.
IX. Circle the answer of your choice. (1.0 mark)

1. This city is a big city has
a. one referring expression c. one predicator
b. no predicator d. (a) and (c)
2. The smallest units of meaning in a word are called
a. distinctive features c. semantic features
b. binary features d. phonetic features
3. Pigeon and pidgin are
a. homographs
b. hyponyms
c. homophones
d. antonyms
4. The referent of a referring expression is
a. the thing picked out by the use of that expression on a particular occasion of
utterance
b. an object which is held to be very typical of the kind of object which can be
referred to by an expression containing the predicate
c. a list of characteristics
d. the part of meaning of a word or a phrase
5. Which of the following sentences is true by virtue of the senses of the words in it?
a. John is a fool.
b. No cats like to bathe.

c. A banana contains vitamins A and C.
d. A cat is an animal.
6. The pronouns he, she, we, you usually have
a. constant reference c. no reference
b. variable reference d. all of the above
7. The pronoun he in President Nam believes that he is invincible is
a. anaphoric c. deictic
b. cataphoric d. (a) and (c)
8. Settle in The snow didn’t settle is
a. a zero-place predicate c. a two-place predicate
b. a one-place predicate d. a three-place predicate
9. Mary and herself in Mary is different from herself have
a. constant reference c. the same referent
b. the same sense d. different referents
10. Is in Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam is used to express
a. the relationship between two predicates that have the same sense
b. the identity of the referents of two referring expressions
c. the relationship between entailment and paraphrase
d. the relationship between an argument and a predicator
The End

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KEY.PRACTICE.

1. The relatedness of meaning found in polysemy is essentially √

2. Both of John’s parents are married to aunts of mine is in a √

3. If two words look alike, they are called homophones. √

4. Fred in ‘There’s no Fred at this address’ is not a referring √

6. Herod gave a nice present is not an elliptical sentence. √

7. In general, adjectives and verbs can be used as referring √

8. The presence of a predicate in a referring expression helps the √

9. Hyponymy and synonymy are sense relations between √

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1 manly-virile S 11 fixed- loose B

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9 mug- beer mug HY

1 Mrs. Laura is my lecturer. √

2 John’s nine-year-old brother is a boy. √

3 Sam’s wife is not German. √

4 Sam’s wife is married. √

8 That man who walks fast is my brother. √

9 My watch is a device for telling the time. √

10 George Washington was the first president. √

1. My brother is jealous of me because I am an only child. > C

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VII.Explain by paraphrasing two meanings of each of the following sentences.

1. The people who saw the movie frequently praised it.

VIII. Briefly explain the following questions. (1.0 mark)

1. Is there something odd about the following sentences?

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5. Can different expressions have the same referent?

IX. Circle the answer of your choice. (1.0 mark)

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