Due to its significance, semantics is often included in undergraduate programs where linguistic students can be provided with basic concepts and methods in the analysis of natural langua
FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS
Semantics – The Study of Meaning
Semantics is often defined as a branch of linguistics that studies meaning in human language As a general science that deals with languages, semantics focuses on exploring the relationship between linguistic form and meaning, which is clearly rule- governed, just as other aspects of linguistic structure are (Syal & Jandal, 2016)
Semantics can be split up into two major branches Lexical semantics is concerned with the meaning of words and the meaning relationships among words, whereas sentential semantics (or phrasal semantics) deals with the meaning of syntactic units larger than words, i.e phrases, clauses and sentences, and semantic relationships between them (Bieswanger & Becker, 2021)
In semantics, there are three different concepts which are different from one another, yet strongly related: referent, word and meaning Among these three, the referent exists first as it can be a person, animal, or thing in the world around us Then the word comes accompanied with its meaning that points to the referent The word has two forms: the audible or spoken form to be heard and the readable or written form to be read The meaning of the word is stored inside our minds and points to the referent in the world The relationship between the referents, the words (or language expressions), and the meaning (or concepts) associated with these words is indicated in the triangle of reference (Fromkin & Rodman, 1993) In fact, there is no direct link between the words and the referents (between language and the world); the process of reference is conducted through conceptualization of the referents in the world as illustrated in the diagram on the next page
Meaning in semantics is not related to words only, but to sentences as well In fact, in actual usage of language for communication, sentences are used more often than isolated words to convey meanings from the speaker to the hearer or from the writer to the reader A sentence may have three meanings The first one is the meaning that stands neutrally, independent of any context or situation, dependent on its lexemes and grammatical structure, the second is the speaker’s meaning as meant by the speaker, and the third is the hearer’s meaning as understood by the hearer Systematic study will proceed more easily if prior consideration is given to sentence meaning and those aspects of meaning which are generally determined by the language system, rather than those which reflect the will of individual speakers and the circumstances of use on particular occasions (Hurford et al., 2014)
The triangle of reference adapted from Ogden & Richards (1923)
Proposition, Sentence, and Utterance
The process of conveying meanings should follow the order of thinking, forming a sentence, and finally changing the sentence into an utterance
An idea in the mind which has been formed before a sentence is spoken is called a proposition A proposition is the essence of meaning in a declarative sentence that can describe some state of affairs
A proposition is independent of language as people have a common universal human tool, i.e., the brain, to think They may form the same propositions when observing the same event despite having different native languages (Saeed, 2016)
Sentence Proposition a Snow is white (English) b Der Schnee ist Weiss (German) c La neige est blanche (French) d Tuyết màu trắng (Vietnamese) e 雪是白的
Different sentences in the same language can also express the same proposition
(1) a Harry took out the garbage b Harry took the garbage out Same
(2) a John is happy b John is not sad Different
(3) a Bill is Chelsea’s father b Bill is Chelsea’s male parent Same
(4) a Isobel loves Tony b Tony loves Isobel Different
(5) a John is scared of spiders b John is frightened of spiders Same
With a proposition in mind, which is independent of language, the speaker then formulates a sentence by combining words horizontally following the grammatical rules of a certain language In other words, sentences are abstracted or generalized from actual language use (Saeed, 2016)
The boy answered all the questions by himself
The last step in conveying meanings is realizing a sentence into various utterances depending on contextual factors An utterance could be one word or more, a whole sentence or part of it, spoken with a pause before and a pause after it
Utterances of single words or short phrases, rather than well-formed structures, are used in real-life communication However, the abstract idea of a sentence is the basis for understanding these utterances (Saeed, 2016)
(2) I’m sure to love it ‘Sure!’
(3) Does he only like black coffee? ‘Black only?’
(4) Bring me some coffee ‘Coffee, please’
The same proposition can be expressed in different sentences, and the same sentence can be realized in millions of utterances While propositions are independent of language, sentences and utterances depend on native languages, situations, and speakers (Griffiths, 2006)
A proposition can be expressed in three different situations, as follows: a A statement asserts the proposition, as in
He left for London b A question contains a proposition asked about, but not asserted, as in
Did he leave for London? c An imperative contains the proposition demanded to be carried out, but not asserted, as in
Propositions are theoretical entities that are appealed to in attempts to explain the concepts of truth and meaning The concept of truth depends on meaning, and therefore the proposition may be true or false If the proposition matches reality, it is true If it does not, it is false The truth condition, the meaning, allows an examination of the world and understanding about the actual facts
The truth and falsity of the proposition entails the truth and falsity of the sentence and the utterance If the proposition is true, both the sentence and the utterance are true
If the proposition is false, both the sentence and the utterance are similarly false (Fromkin & Rodman, 1993)
(1) The earth is spherical True
(2) The earth is flat False
(3) King Henry VIII of the UK is traveling to Italy False
While the concept of truth depends on meaning, the concept of correctness depends on grammar The sentence can be true or false and can be grammatically correct or incorrect (Fromkin & Rodman, 1993)
(1) The earth goes round the sun True Correct
(2) The sun goes round the earth False Correct
(3) The sun go round the earth False Incorrect
(4) The earth go round the sun False Incorrect
Reference, Referent, and Referring Expression
Reference is the relation between the linguistic expression (a word or phrase) and the being which it refers to and which exists in the external world This being could be a human, animal, plant, thing, or place, and the external world could be the real world or the world of imagination Reference is a pragmatic act as it has to be done and interpreted with regard to context (Alkhuli, 2008)
(1) your book the book in the external world that belongs to the listener(s)
(2) Rome the capital city of Italy
(3) John the man whose name is John
(4) the lion the specific lion in the real world
(5) the unicorn the legendary creature in the imaginary world of folklore
(6) the mermaid the imaginary marine creature in folktales (7) We (a) drove to
(a) the speaker(s) (and the listener(s)) (b) the city of Edinburg (which may be in Indiana, Illinois, or Scotland)
(c) the day that the speaker(s) refers to
A referent is a being in the external world that a language expression can indicate When the same linguistic expression used by different people at different times can refer to the same referent, the referent can be classified as constant When the same linguistic expression used by different people at different times can refer to different referents, they can be classified as variable When many linguistic expressions can refer to the same referent, it is said that they have co-reference (Alkhuli, 2008)
(2) the President of the USA Variable
(3) the Minister of Education Variable
A referring expression is a linguistic expression (normally some kind of noun phrase) that refers to a being in the external world (Syal & Jandal, 2016)
2007 this book that corner her birthday party the plan we were told about
Sense
The sense of a linguistic expression explains the internal meaning relationship between that expression and other expressions in the same language (Hurford & Heasley, 1984)
(1) rich is a synonym of wealthy
(2) go is an antonym of come
(3) orange is a hyponym of fruit
4.2.1 Denotation and Connotation a The denotation of a linguistic expression (also referred to as denotative meaning) is the core, central or referential meaning of the word found in a dictionary In English, a content word may have its denotation described in terms of a set of semantic features that serve to identify the particular concept associated with the word b The connotation of a linguistic expression (also referred to as connotative meaning) is the additional meaning that the expression has beyond its denotative meaning It shows people’s emotions and / or attitudes towards what the word refers to The connotation of a word may depend on different factors: the culture in which the word is used; the language user’s family and / or educational background; the language user’s social and / or political class; the language user’s speech community and / or ethnic group; etc (Griffiths, 2006)
(1) Child is denoted as [+ human], [– mature] and [± male] is positively connoted as [+ affectionate] or [+ innocent] is negatively connoted as [+ noisy] or [+ irritating]
(2) Woman is denoted as [+ human], [+ mature] and [+ female] is positively connoted as [+ devoted] or [+ patient] is negatively connoted as [+ talkative] or [+ wicked]
4.2.2 Primary meaning and Secondary meaning a The primary meaning of a linguistic expression is the first meaning or usage that the word will suggest to most people when it is said in solation b Secondary meanings or a word are the meanings besides its primary meaning Unlike the primary meaning, these are context-bound (Griffiths, 2006)
Wing is primarily defined as one of the feathered limbs that a bird uses to fly is secondarily defined as
(a) a side part of the playing area
(b) a political party (c) a part of a large building (d) a part at the side of a car (e) a side of a stage
4.2.3 Literal meaning and Figurative meaning a The literal meaning of a word is its basic or usual meaning that can be found in a dictionary b The figurative meaning is a meaning which is different from its usual meaning and can create vivid mental images to readers or listeners
(1) I don’t like chicken wings – there’s not much meat on them a side part of a body of bird (literal meaning)
(2) We hope college life will help him to spread his wings a bit to extend his activities and interest (figurative meaning)
Decide which of the following sentences are propositions Write Y (Yes) if they are and N (No) if they are not
0 Houston is located in Harris County Y
1 San Antonio is the capital of Texas
7 Do the exercises at the end of the lesson
9 Turn in your paper now!
11 A square does not have five sides
13 Stop at the stop sign
14 Every student in the class got the perfect score on the exam
15 The earth is not round
16 When will class be over?
17 Some students in the class could not get the perfect score on the exam
19 Jane Austen is the author of Pride and Prejudice
20 Turn right at the traffic light
Read the following pairs of sentences Write S if they have the same proposition and D if they have different propositions
1 a John gave Mary a book b Mary was given a book by John S
2 a George danced with Ethel b George didn’t dance with Ethel
3 a Sharks hunt seals b Seals are prey to sharks
4 a Mr Dindlay killed Janet b Mr Dindlay caused Janet to die
5 a John is the parent of James b James is the parent of John
6 a Helen put on a sweater b Helen put a sweater on
7 a The hunter bit the lion b The lion bit the hunter
8 a Sam sliced the salami with a knife b Sam used a knife to slice the salami
9 a The fly was on the wall b The wall was under the fly
10 a Jack was injured by a stone b Jack was hit by a stone
11 a Hong Kong is warmer than Beijing in December b Beijing is cooler than Hong Kong in December
Complete the statements by writing S (sentence) or U (utterance) into the blanks
0 The …S… is abstract, whereas the …U… is real speech attached to a certain place, time, speaker, hearer, and situation
1 The ……… may be syntactically complete or not
2 The ……… is a complete syntactic unit
3 The ……… may be only a part of the ………
4 The ……… is turned real through the ………
5 The same ……… can be turned into one ……… or more, depending on the number of pauses made during saying the ………
6 The same ……… can be realized through millions of ………’s
7 Whenever the ……… is spoken, it becomes a new different ………
8 Every ……… has a different situation (speaker, hearer, time, place, occasion) and different phonetic qualities (stress, intonation, articulation)
Distinguish the characteristics of the proposition, the sentence, and the utterance by putting a tick in the appropriate columns
One proposition can be expressed in many sentences How many sentences can you make to express the proposition that Ali broke the window?
Decide whether the referents in the following questions are constant I or variable (V)
1 the King of England 12 this school
4 the Mediterranean Sea 15 my boss
5 her father 16 that tall man over there
7 the United Nations 18 the sun
10 the prime minister of the
21 the best student in my class
Suggest some referring expressions that can refer to the same person or thing
The word mean is frequently ambiguous It is used to specify the kind of meaning (or sense) that might be looked up in a dictionary It is also used to specify the reference of an expression in a particular situation Decide whether the word mean (and its other forms) in the following questions specifies Sense (S) or
0 Salamat means ‘thank you’ in Tagalog S
1 Usufruct means ‘the right of one individual to use and enjoy the property of another
2 When Jones said that he was meeting “a close friend” for dinner, he meant his lawyer
3 Daddy, what does logic mean?
4 You should say what you mean
5 Purchase has the same meaning as buy
6 Look up the meaning of democracy in your dictionary
7 When Albert talks about his former friend, he means me
9 When I said The pizza is cold, I meant my slice, not yours
10 He doesn't really mean it - he's just being contrary
Complete the following statements with the words given in the box language expression referring expression reference referent meaningful sense sentences not abstract
0 Not every language expression has a referent
1 _ is the relation between a language expression and other language expressions in the same language
2 _ is the relation between a language expression and an individual entity in the external world
3 The _ is a specific being in the external world
4 Sense is not related to words only, but to phrases and _ as well
5 The sentence does _ have a referent
7 Sense is _, but the referent is often real and concrete
8 Every _ language expression has a sense.
WORD MEANING
Semantic Features
Semantic features, also called semantic components or semantic elements, are the smallest units of meaning in a word All the semantic features of a word combine to make a word with a specific meaning differing from other words Analyzing a word meaning involves analyzing it into its semantic features (Fromkin & Rodman, 1993)
Some examples of distinctive semantic features are [± living], [± male], [± human], [± masculine], [± young], [± edible], [± drinkable], [± sweet], [± concrete], [± visible], [± printed], [± countable], [± proper], [± static], and [± neutral]
Semantic Features boy [+ living], [+ male], [+ young], [+ human] bachelor [+ male], [+ adult], [+unmarried] mother [+ female] [+ having a child] bed [+ furniture], [used for sleeping on]
There are four types of semantic features: a Positive feature or plus feature
The + sign indicates that the word can have a certain semantic feature
Semantic Features girl [+ young], [+ human], [+ living], [+ countable] b Negative feature or minus feature
The – sign indicates that the word does not have a certain semantic feature
Semantic Features a woman [– young], [– male] b dog [– human] c book [– living] d water [– countable] c Double feature or plus-minus feature
The ± sign indicates that the word can have both the positive and negative features
[± masculine] b nurse c student d child e person d Zero feature
The ∅ sign indicates that a certain semantic feature does not apply to a certain word
[– living], [– human], [– edible], [– drinkable], [– proper]
[∅ male], [∅ masculine], [∅ young], [∅ sweet], [∅ static], [+ neutral]
1.3 Characteristics a Semantic features are not always equally significant Some of them are distinctive features or basic features whereas others can be non-distinctive or secondary features
Non-distinctive Semantic Features a apple [+ colored], [+ sized] b man / woman [+ eye colored], [+ skin colored] b The same semantic feature can be found in many different words
[+ professional] b nurse c doctor d engineer e architect c The same sematic feature can be found in words of different parts of speech
[+ female] b breast-feed (v) c pregnant (adj) d Sematic features can entail one another
Example: boy [+ noun] [+ living] [+ human] [+ male] [+ young]
[– living] e Semantic features may show some relations of implications This may be called feature redundancy
Semantic Feature Implication a [+ male] implies [+ masculine] b [+ human] implies [+ living]
Semantic Field
Semantic fields give us a comprehensive picture about the nature of language and its words Semantic fields are the output of many processes of classification and sub- classification (Alkhuli, 2008)
English words can be grouped and classified depending on their meaning into different semantic fields A semantic field can be defined as the organization of related words and expressions into a system that shows their relationship to one another (Fromkin & Rodman, 1993)
Some examples of possible semantic fields to which different words may belong include relatives, mammals, birds, sea animals, reptiles, insects, flowers, herbs, fruitful trees, forest frees, medicines, diseases, kitchen utensils, furniture, transportation means, body organs, war equipment, civil jobs, military ranks, colors, printed materials, stationery, sports, banking, administration, commerce, vocations, professions, etc Example:
(a) nose, nose, eye, ear, mouth, tongue, head, heart, brain Body organs
(b) cat, dog, cow, goat, wolf, fox, lion, tiger Animals
Semantic fields include words only which have certain semantic relations, as listed below a Synonymy: Synonyms usually come under the same semantic field
Example: smart, bright, intelligent, wise, clever, etc b Hyponymy: Hyponyms and superordinates belong to the same semantic field Example: cat / animal, apple / fruit, boy / human, brother / relative etc c Antonymy: Antonyms, regardless of their type, belong to the same semantic field Example: male / female, sell / buy, north / south d Derivation: Derivatives from the same root usually belong to the same field Example: phone, phoneme, allophone, phonetic, phonemic, phonic, phonetics, phonemics, phonetically, phonemically, phonetician, etc e Horizontal association: Associated words may belong to the same semantic field Example:
(a) of-structures the taste of water
(c) subject-verb structures The eye sees
(d) noun-prepositional-phrase structures belief in God
2.3 Characteristics a Multiple membership: Most words belong to more than one semantic field This phenomenon may cause some overlap between different fields However, a word cannot usually belong to equally ranking fields; it can belong to fields of different ranks in the hierarchy
(a) ear body organs head organs the hearing system
(b) whale living creatures animals sea animals
(d) cat animals domestic animals b Types of Semantic Fields
Semantic fields are usually classified into five domains, which are far from being final or uncontroversial
Type of semantic field Semantic field
(concrete nouns in grammar) book, copybook, chair, car, room, tree, mountain, sea, river, plane, bird, fish, iron, etc
(verbs in grammar) walk, run, sit, stand, write, swim, sleep, study, read, etc
(abstract nouns in grammar) walking, translation, dictation, greatness, sleeping, reading, tolerance, etc
(adjectives in grammar) far, near, clever, generous, red, happy, tolerant, easy, difficult, etc
(particles in grammar) in, on, at, to, over, between, and, or, etc.
Meaning Relations among Words
The sense of a word is the relations of the word with other words in the same language Such relations are synonymy, hyponymy, and antonymy (Alkhuli, 2008)
Synonymy is equivalence of sense between two words or more Two words are absolutely synonymous if they have the same denotative, connotative, and social meaning and can replace each other in all contexts of occurrence However, absolute synonyms are extremely rare What can be considered as synonyms in a language are usually near-equivalent items, or descriptive items, when two words share the same set of semantic features (Syal & Jandal, 2016)
(2) bright – clever – intelligent – keen – smart
There are two criteria for testing synonymy a The first criterion is contextual replacement When a single word in a sentence is replaced by a synonym in certain contexts, then the literal meaning of the sentence is not changed (Griffiths, 2006)
(1) a My mother’s family name was Christie b My mum’s family name c My mom’s family name
(2) a He is a teacher of physics b He is an instructor b The second criterion is mutual inclusion When each word is a kind of the other, the two words are synonyms
A teacher is a kind of instructor
As for grammatical categories, it is common that the two synonyms belong to the same part of speech However, synonyms may belong to different parts of speech as well (Alkhuli, 2008)
Example: a clever – bright b cleverness – brightness c cleverly – brightly d cleverness – to be bright
Hyponymy is a sense relationship between two words (or phrases), with one being a kind of the other Hyponymy works in one direction only: if A is a hyponym of
B, B is not a hyponym of A (Lửbner, 2013)
If A is a hyponym of B and B is a hyponym of A, A and B are mutual hyponyms or synonyms (Lửbner, 2013)
(1) return is a hyponym of go back return and go back are synonyms go back is a hyponym of return
(2) clever is a hyponym of and bright clever and bright are synonyms bright is a hyponym of clever
Antonymy is a sense relation between words, i.e., oppositeness or at least dissimilarity of senses Antonymy is mainly divided into five different types a Binary Antonym (or Complementary Antonymy)
Two words in a pair are classified as binary antonyms when each word of the pair excludes and negates the other In other words, the two words can complete the circle themselves without a third alternative The relation between these words is called binary antonymy
Binary antonyms cannot be graded, so they do not allow intensifiers or degree words such as very, rather, fairly, somehow, somewhat, etc (Saeed, 2016)
In the relation of gradable antonymy, each pair can be represented by a scale of two extremes, allowing degrees in between Each word in the pair is gradable as it can be used with intensifiers or degree words (Saeed, 2016)
(3) near far c Converses (Relational Antonymy)
In the relation of converse antonymy, the two words of each pair are concomitant, which means that no one can exist without the other Common converse pairs include kinship and social roles, directional opposites and comparative structures (Saeed, 2016)
(4) easier more difficult d Reverse antonymy (Directional antonymy)
Two words are called reverses if they denote motion or change, with one describing movement in one direction, and the other the same movement in the opposite direction (Saeed, 2016)
(3) a increase b decrease e Multiple Incompatibility (Affinity Antonymy)
In the relation of multiple incompatibility, the words in each group are related to one kind, and they are hyponyms of the same superordinate (Saeed, 2016)
Markedness
Gradable antonymy interacts with unmarked and marked pairs in a systematic way (Lee, 2023) a Marked adjectives never accept measure phrases
(1) Fido is twenty inches tall Fido is twenty inches *short
(2) The fence is six wide The fence is six *narrow
(3) Garfield is six years old Garfield is six years *young b Marked adjectives are awkward with factor phrases like twice in the equative
(1) That is twice as tall as this That is twice as ?short as this
(2) That is twice as wide as this That is twice as ?narrow as this
(3) That is twice as old as this That is twice as ?young as this c Marked adjectives do not occur in nominalizations that name the dimension along which they measure
(1) The length of the table is four feet The *shortness of the table is four feet (2) The width of the table is three feet The *narrowness of the table is three feet d In Wh-questions, marked adjectives trigger a presupposition
Presupposition (1) How tall are you? A presupposition is you are tall
(2) How short are you? A presupposition is you are short
Identify the feature that distinguishes the words in each pair given below
0 he-student, she-student [+ male], [– male]
Identify the common semantic feature shared by (a) and (b), and the distinctive semantic feature that distinguishes (a) from (b) in each of the following questions
0 (a) lobster, shrimp, crab, oyster [+ shellfish] [+edible sea animal]
(b) trout, sole, herring, salmon [+ fish]
2 (a) goat, cow, sheep, calf, lamb
(b) cat, dog, hamster, kitten, puppy
3 (a) rock, metal, house, book, car
(b) water, beer, milk, wine, tea
4 (a) pen, chair, mountain, train, computer
(b) feeling, love, idea, anger, patience
5 (a) rose, lily, tulip, daisy, sunflower
(b) apple, watermelon, grape, pear, peach
6 (a) pen, pencil, chalk, crayon, ballpoint
(b) paper, board, card, pad, leaf
7 (a) cycle, skate, ski, roller skate, fly
(b) walk, run, jump, hop, swim
8 (a) shout, whisper, mutter, yell, mumble
(b) bark, baa, meow, croak, moo
9 (a) alive, asleep, awake, dead, faint
(b) bored, sad, happy, excited, angry
10 (a) honest, friendly, confident, brave, kind
(b) rude, selfish, lazy, dishonest, cruel
Identify a common semantic feature for each group of words given below
0 boy, girl, child, man [+ human]
Supposing all the words given share the same semantic feature of having some kinship, complete the table below to distinguish their other semantic features
English Vietnamese Chinese brother anh huynh (兄) em đệ (弟) sister muội(妹) chị tỷ(姐)
The semantic features in the second column can be correspondingly implied by the ones in the first column Put the appropriate signs (+, –, ±, or ∅) in front of them to clarify the implication
Semantic Feature Implication Semantic Feature Implication
Exercise 3.6: Identify the semantic field of the following groups of words
0 cat, dog, cow, goat, wolf, fox, lion, tiger Animals
1 father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, aunt
2 angry, sad, happy, depressed, afraid
3 cup, mug, glass, bottle, tumbler
4 car, lorry, truck, bus, van
5 apple, orange, grape, banana, pear
6 sofa, cabinet, bed, table, chair
7 blue, red, yellow, green, black, white
8 stew, boil, fry, steam, roast, grill, smoke
9 gaze, glance, stare, watch, observe
10 thin, bony, skinny, slim, slender
Suggest a suitable semantic field for each group and decide its type of semantic field: concrete beings (C), actions (AC), abstracts (A), qualities (Q), or linkers (L)
0 bed, chair, table, desk furniture C
13 write, check, do, study, search
17 tour, exploration, travel, sight seeing
Underline the word that does not belong to the group and suggest a suitable semantic field for the group
0 banana, apple, orange, apricot, flower fruit
1 uncle, aunt, friend, grandmother, cousin
2 car, ship, plane, lake, boat
3 honesty, generosity, truthfulness, reliability, world
4 second, minute, court, hour, day
5 running, walking, thinking, jumping, skating
6 cafeteria, toy store, book shop, ocean
7 dog, fox, cow, cat, sheep
8 shoe, shirt, skirt, suit, smart,
9 doctor, hospital, nurse, secretary, postman
10 Thursday, November, December, May, April
11 good, nice, friendly, kind, bad
12 German, Russia, England, Scotland, France
13 two, seven, twenty, first, one
14 jump, run, tired, write, read
15 strawberry, carrot, peas, cauliflower, broccoli
Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F)
0 The semantic field is the same as extension
1 The wider the semantic field, the more members it has
2 The number of semantic fields in a language is not a controversial matter
3 The semantic field is a group of unrelated words
4 The semantic field includes words indicating concrete beings only
5 Antonyms do not come under the same semantic field
6 A word and its derivatives do not belong to the same semantic field
7 The hyponym and the superordinate come under the same semantic field
8 The words student and students come under the same SF
9 Words in synonymy, hyponymy, or antonymy can replace one another vertically in a sentence; they are vertically related
10 If words are not vertically related, they cannot belong to the same SF
11 The words eye and see do not belong to the same SF
12 Perpendicular antonymy does not allow words to be in the same SF
13 Words in affinity antonymy cannot belong to the same SF
14 Words in partial antonymy are in the same SF
15 If a word belongs to a minor SF, it cannot belong to another minor SF
16 If a word belongs to a minor SF, it cannot belong to a major SF
17 Some words do not belong to any SF
18 Particles like prepositions and conjunctions do not belong to any SF
Suggest at least a synonym for each word given below
For the following pairs decide which, if either, is a hyponym of the other
Give the binary antonyms for the following words
Exercise 3.13: Give a gradable antonym(s) for the following words
Decide whether the antonymy in each pair of words below is binary (B) or gradable (G)
Suggest words/phrases that can work with the given words in a relation of converse antonymy
Suggest words/phrases that can work with the given words in a relation of reverse antonymy
Find out the superordinate of the following groups of incompatibilities
0 black, purple, blue, brown, green, yellow, orange color
5 dawn, morning, noon, afternoon, evening
7 head, arms, legs, skin, face
13 shoes, sneakers, trainers, sandals, slippers, boots
Decide whether the following pairs of words are binary antonyms (B), gradable antonyms (G), converses (C), reverses (R) or incompatibilities (I)
Determine which member of each following pair is the unmarked one
SENTENCE MEANING
Anomaly
Anomaly is a violation of semantic rules creating a meaningless sentence The sentence fails to communicate anything because it is illogical, or it violates rules of lexical or grammatical combinations (Hurford & Heasley, 1984)
(1) That bachelor is pregnant bachelor: [+ male] pregnant: [– male]
(2) My brother is the only child in the family brother: [+ having a sibling] only: [– having a sibling]
Types of Sentences
An analytic sentence is a sentence the meaning of which is true by itself, internally true, true by the nature of relations of words inside the sentence without the need for external investigation to verify its truth (Hurford & Heasley, 1984)
(1) All elephants are animals elephant: [+ animal]
(2) Sam’s wife is married wife: [+ married]
A contradictory sentence (or a contradiction) is a sentence which is necessarily FALSE because of the meanings of its words Their falsity can be easily verified, not through checking the external world, but through the internal relations of the words inside the sentence itself (Hurford & Heasley, 1984)
Sentence Semantic features (1) This animal is a vegetable vegetable: [– animal]
(2) Sam is older than himself Sam: [+ one age]; himself [+ one age] older [– one age]
A synthetic sentence is a sentence the truth of which cannot be judged depending on the internal language of the sentence They can be true if they match reality or false if they do not
(1) John is from Ireland There is no anomaly in the senses of John, Ireland, or from
(2) Sam’s wife is German There is no anomaly in the senses of Sam’s, wife, or
Meaning Relations among Sentences
Each sentence has a sense, which consists of the sentence relations with other sentences in the same language Such relations are paraphrase, entailment, and contradictoriness (Kreidler, 2014)
Synonymy is a relationship between words or senses of words while paraphrasing is the relationship between two sentences that are identical in sense; each sentence is a paraphrase of the other
A paraphrase relationship can be achieved by using synonyms More specifically, two sentences can be paraphrases when they are identical in all words except two synonyms in the same position
Paraphrases can also be made by transforming the grammatical structure of the sentence into another structure that keeps the sense unchanged (except possibly minor differences in emphases (Fromkin & Rodman, 1993)
(1) a This is a bent wire b This is a twisted wire
(2) a He did his homework very quickly b He did his homework very speedily (3) a Ali is Hani’s father b Hani is Ali’s son
(4) a The girl kissed the boy b The boy was kissed by the girl
Entailment is a sense relationship between sentences, where the truth of one implies the truth of the other because of the meanings of the worlds involved An entailment relationship can be achieved by using hyponyms If two sentences A and B are identical in all words except two words C and D in the same position (C in A and D in B) and C is a hyponym of D, it follows that A entails B Entailment which works in one direction is called one-way entailment (Lửbner, 2013)
(1) (A) The farmer was collecting some sheep (C)
(B) The farmer was collecting some animals (D) (C) is a hyponym of (D)
Therefore, (A) entails (B), or (A) (B) (2) (A) He killed a lion (C)
If two sentences are negative and identical in all words except two words in the same position, the sentence which has the superordinate entails the sentence which has the hyponym
(A) The farmer was not collecting some sheep (C)
(B) The farmer was not collecting some animals (D)
Therefore, (B) entails (A), or (B) (A) b “All” sentences
If two sentences are identical in all words except two words in the same position preceded by “all”, the sentence which has the superordinate entails the sentence which has the hyponym
(A) The farmer was not collecting all the sheep (C)
(B) The farmer was not collecting all animals (D)
Therefore, (B) entails (A), or (B) (A) c Sentences with relative words
If two sentences are identical and have relative words (such as large, small, far, near) in the same position, there is no entailment
As large is a relative word with a flexible changeable sense, (C) cannot entail (D)
Therefore, there is no entailment here d Cumulative entailment
Entailment can also be cumulative If A entails B, and if B entails C, then A entails C
(B) The boys saw an animal
(C) The persons saw an animal (A) entails (B), and (B) entails (C), so (A) entails (C), or (A) (2) (A) Some boys ran down the street
(B) Some kids ran down the street
(C) Some kids went down the street
Two entailments between a pair of sentences are mutual since the truth of either sentence guarantees the truth of the other These two-way entailments are paraphrases (Yule, 2020)
(1) (A) The battle ended in a sad way
(B) The battle ended in a melancholy way (A) entails (B), and (B) entails (A)
Therefore, (A) and (B) are paraphrases, or (A) (B)
(2) (A) Paul borrowed a car from Sue
(B) Sue lent a car to Paul
Contradictoriness is a sense relation between two sentences Two sentences are contradictories if they both cannot be true at the same time
If two sentences are identical in all words except two antonyms in the same position and all referents in both sentences are the same, the two sentences may be contradictories However, if the referents are not the same, the two sentences are not contradictories (Yule, 2020)
(0) a Hani was born in 1975 b Hani was born in 1985
(1) a This water is hot b This water is cold
Presupposition is the previously known meaning which is implied in the sentence While entailment is a logical meaning inherent in the sentence, presupposition may depend on the knowledge of the facts, shared by the speaker and the hearer (Saeed, 2016)
(1) John’s son is named Danny John has a son
(2) I managed to be on time I tried to be on time
There is an important difference between entailment and presupposition
Entailment is strictly a semantic relation, whereas presupposition has to do with pragmatic issues such as managing the common ground and appropriateness of use (Mair, 2022)
If A entails B, then any speaker who states that A is true is committed to believing that B is also true However, a speaker who asks whether A is true or denies that A is true makes no commitment concerning the truth value of B In contrast, if A presupposes
B, then the inference holds whether the speaker asserts, denies, or asks whether A is true (Kroeger, 2019)
(2) A I didn’t break your jar does not entail
(3) A Did I break your jar? does not entail
(4) A The vice president regrets that he falsifed his dental records presupposes B The vice president has falsifed his dental records (5) A The vice president doesn’t regret that he falsifed his dental records
(6) A Does the vice president regret that he falsifed his dental records?
A partial listing of words or grammatical constructions that can indicate the presence of a presupposition is presented below a Definite descriptions:
• The use of a definite singular noun phrase (e.g the king of France) presupposes that there is a uniquely identifiable individual in the situation under discussion that fits that description
• The use of a possessive phrase (e.g my cat) presupposes the existence of the possessee
• Restrictive relative clauses occurring within a definite noun phrase presuppose the existence of some individual who has the property named by the relative clause
I’m looking for the man who killed my father Some man killed the speaker’s father b Factive predicates (e.g regret, aware, realize, know, be sorry that) are predicates that presuppose the truth of their complement clauses c Implicative predicates:
Word Presupposition manage to try forget intend to d Aspectual predicates:
The event stopped The event had been going on for some time before that
The event began The event was not occurring before e Temporal clauses presuppose the truth of their subordinate clauses; counterfactuals presuppose that their antecedent (if) clauses are false; and comparisons presuppose that the relevant statement holds true for the object of comparison
(0) Before I moved to New York, I had never attended a concert
The speaker moved to New York
(1) If you had not written that letter, I would not have to fire you
The hearer did write that letter
(2) Jimmy isn’t as shy as Billy Billy is shy
Explain the anomaly in each of the following sentences
0 The cat is not an animal cat [+ animate] vs animal [+ animate]
1 Babies can lift one ton
2 The girl frightened the idea
4 My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor
7 The tiger remained alive after being killed
9 The bachelor gave birth to a baby
10 The girl is happily unhappy
11 Colorless green ideas sleep furiously
Examine the truth value of the following sentences Write A (Analytic), C (Contradictory), and S (Synthetic) next to the appropriate sentences
0 John’s nine-year-old brother is a boy A
1 John’s brother is nine years old
3 No cats like to bathe
4 Que será será ‘What will be, will be.’
5 The restaurant opens at 5 pm, and begins serving at 3 pm
6 Cats never live more than 20 years
7 Let me say it again: I never repeat myself
9 My watch is a device for telling the time
10 That girl is her own mother’s mother
11 That boy is his own father’s son
14 Your children are not your children
15 If it breaks, it breaks
16 John is in his office
17 The earth revolves around the sun
18 Mavis stopped writing the assignment yesterday, but she hasn’t finished writing it yet
19 The sun is not visible at night
20 Nobody goes to that restaurant because it’s too crowded
21 Today is the first day of the rest of your life
22 Bachelors cannot form lasting relationships
25 Even numbers are divisible by two
26 If it rains, we’ll get wet
27 If that snake is not dead, then it is alive
28 Shanghai is the capital of China
29 My brother is an only child
30 Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States
Decide whether the sentences in each pair are paraphrases of each other Write
P (Paraphrase) if they are and NP (No paraphrases) if they are not
0 a Town A lies east of town B b Town B lies west of town A P
1 a This is Danny’s breakfast b This is Danny’s lunch
2 a Village A is in front of village B b Village B is behind village A
3 a Ali is Sam’s son b James is Sam’s son
4 a He offered them a great help b He offered them a great aid
5 a Christina and Mat are workaholics b Christina and Mat are lazy
6 a Planes are very loud b Planes are very noisy
7 a California is richer than some countries b Some countries are poorer than California
8 a I lent the book to Jim b I borrowed the book from Jim
9 a This is my mother b This is not my father
10 a I am exhausted b I am extremely tired
11 a The map is above the chalkboard b The chalkboard is below the map
12 a My car is red b My car is not white
13 a Danny wrote a marvelous essay b A marvelous essay was written by Danny
14 a Advertising is a minor feature of everyday life b Advertising is an important feature of everyday life
15 a We were concerned about her health b We had some concerns about her health
Write a paraphrase for each of the sentences given below
(2) The house was concealed by the tree The house was hidden by the tree
2 The needle is too short
3 Yesterday my son brough home a puppy
5 The boy broke the window
6 Some countries have no coastline
7 Watching television is not a waste of time
8 My friend loathes string beans
9 I’ll look for that book right now
11 John is the parent of James
12 My father owns this car
13 John sold the book to David
15 We had hardly begun our work when it rained
16 Sitting in one place for so long is very uncomfortable
17 I saw Ted at the party
18 The nearest service station is 50 miles away
19 Jenny and Kevin are twins
20 They had a wonderful holiday even though the weather was bad
21 Bachelors preferred red-haired girls
Decide which sentence, (A) or (B), entails the other in each pair of sentences given below
0 (A) The student bought three books
(B) The student bought three printed materials (A)
1 (A) The student did not buy any books
(B) The student did not buy any printed materials
2 (A) The student bought all the books
(B) The student bought all the printed materials
3 (A) Moira has arrived in Edinburg
4 (A) Moira has arrived in Edinburg
5 (A) The students liked the course
(B) The students loved the course
7 (A) That figure has three sides
8 (A) There’s a house next to the gate
(B) There’s a building next to the gate
9 (A) There isn’t a house next to the gate
(B) There isn’t a building next to the gate
(B) This is not my mother
13 (A) I broke your Ming dynasty jar
(B) Your Ming dynasty jar broke
14 (A) Ann is an aunt of mine
(B) Ann is a sister of my mother
(B) I am taller than Sydney, and Sydney is taller than Albert
Examine the sense relation between the sentences in each pair given below Use
for one-way entailment and for two-way entailment
0 He got ready for the exam He got ready for the test
1 He grew a lot of trees He grew a lot of plants
2 John is Dick’s brother Dick is John’s brother
3 I’m wearing black boots I’m wearing black footwear
4 My father owns this car This car belongs to my father
5 My pet likes the taste of chocolate My pet cobra finds chocolate tasty
6 Jenny and Kevin are twins Kevin and Jenny are twins
7 The bottle is half empty The bottle is half full
8 Eliza plays the flute Eliza plays a musical instrument
9 Ali looks like his father Ali resembles his father
10 The wolf killed the bear The bear is dead
11 The Jones sold their house to the
The Cruses bought the house from the Jones
12 Some countries have no coastline Not all countries have a coastline
13 All dogs have fleas My dog has fleas
14 Everyone will lose No-one will win
15 Alan planted roses Someone / Alan planted flowers
16 Mary is Nancy’s mother Nancy is Mary’s daughter
17 I saw Ted at the party It was Ted that I saw at the party
18 It is 50 miles to the nearest service station
The nearest service station is 50 miles away
19 Mary owns three houses Mary owns a house
20 The bear killed the wolf The wolf was killed by the bear
21 He drew a rectangle He drew a geometrical figure
22 Today is Monday Yesterday was Sunday
23 Jim is fatter than Ed and Ed is fatter than Bob
Jim is fatter than Bob
24 Kevin boiled an egg Kevin cooked an egg
25 Rose is married to Tom Rose is Tom’s wife
26 Gina plays tennis Someone plays sports
27 The accommodation was excellent The accommodation was good
28 He is the father of my mother He is my maternal grandfather
29 Her son drives her to work every day
Her son takes her to work every day
30 Two teams are competing in a football match
Two groups of people are playing sports
Fill in each blank with one suitable word
1 Both synonymy and are relationships of sense identity
2 Synonymy is a sense identity of
3 Paraphrase is a sense identity of
6 Both synonymy and are relations between word senses
7 Both paraphrase and are relations between sentence senses
8 The relation between synonymy and paraphrase is parallel to the relation between and
9 The relation between synonymy and hyponymy is parallel to the relation between and
10 If A is a hyponym of B, B is a of A
13 Hyponymy is a relation between a and a
Decide whether these following pairs of sentences are contradictory (C) or not (NC)
0 a Some people love to go to France b Some people love to go to Italy
1 a Oil paintings are more expensive than watercolors b Watercolors cost more than oil paintings
2 a The man bought a goat b The man bought a horse
3 a My parents are Canadian b My parents are not Canadian
4 a Many people are Canadian b Many people are not Canadian
5 a Today is Sunday b Tomorrow is not Monday
6 a There is beer in the fridge b There is not cool beer in the fridge
7 a It’s always raining here b It’s never raining here
8 a Some of the kids are sick b Some of the kids are not sick
9 a All the kids are sick b Not all the kids are sick
10 a Everyone will win b Someone will lose
Identify the relationship between the following pairs of propositions Write E for entailment, P for paraphrase, or C for contradictoriness)
0 a John killed the wasp b The wasp died
1 a John killed the wasp b The wasp did not die
2 a Jack is a lawyer b Jack is an attorney
3 a The wasp is alive b The wasp is dead
4 a John sold the book to Mary b Mary bought the book
5 a The wasp is no longer alive b The wasp is dead
6 a The road is wide here b The road is narrow here
7 a Pat met Paula at three o’clock b Pat and Paula met each other at three o’clock
8 a Fido is a dog b Fido has four legs
9 a Michael is my advisor b I am Michael’s advisee
10 a Somebody helped me b Nobody helped me
11 a Only 50 per cent of the people here have a job b Fifty per cent of the people here don’t have a job
12 a Stewball was a racehorse b Stewball was a mammal
13 a Elvis died of cardiac arrhythmia b Elvis is alive
14 a Olivia passed her driving test b Olivia didn’t fail her driving test
15 a My brother Sebastian has just come from Rome b My brother Sebastian has never been to Rome
16 a I turned off the light b It’s dark now
17 a Mary liked the show b Nobody liked the show
18 a That boy is my son b I am that boy’s parent
19 a Not all of our students will graduate b Some of our students will graduate
20 a She is still here b She isn’t here anymore
Identify the presuppositions in the following sentences
0 Rover is a hungry dog Rover is a dog
1 John’s friend, Tony, who is a dentist, likes apples
2 Paris is the capital and most populous city of France
3 My sister, who lives in France, is coming to stay with me next week
4 My mother’s company, which makes mobile phones, is moving soon from
5 My friend Joe rides motorcycle 90 miles an hour
6 Many families hold weekly meetings to determine household rules and activities
7 Mr Brown, who(m) we studied English with, is a very nice teacher
8 Steve’s father, Curtis, who is a police officer, likes football
9 It was only twenty meters from the wall, and I still saw nothing
10 Chilli pepper is high in antioxidants and packed with vitamin C
Decide whether the relation between the sentences in each pair given below is entailment (E) or Presupposition (PS)
0 a Dave knows that Jim crashed the car b Jim crashed the car
1 a Zaire is bigger than Alaska b Alaska is smaller than Zaire
2 a The minister blames her secretary for leaking the memo to the press b The memo was leaked to the press
3 a Everyone passed the examination b No one failed the examination
4 a Mr Singleton has resumed his habit of drinking beer b Mr Singleton had a habit of drinking beer
5 a The boss realized that Jim was lying b Jim was lying
6 a Singapore is south of Kuala Lumpur b Kuala Lumpur is north of Singapore
7 a I am sorry that Arthur was fired b Arthur was fired
8 a Nobody is perfect b Everybody is imperfect
9 a It’s a cat b It’s not a dog
10 a The burger I had for lunch is disagreeing with me b I had a burger for lunch
11 a Leif Erikson returned to Greenland b Leif Erikson had previously visited Greenland
12 a The mayor of Boston is not in town today b There is a mayor of Boston
13 a Anna likes every single kind of fruit b Anna likes oranges
14 a I do regret leaving Boston b I left Boston
15 a Yolanda had steak for dinner b Yolanda had meat for dinner
16 a Anna realized that she was in debt b Anna was in debt.
AMBIGUITY
Word Ambiguity
Homonymy is a relation in which various words have the same (sound and written) form but have different meanings If a word has two senses or more with no relation between them, this would be a case of homonymy
1 a bank (n) /bổŋk/ a financial institution b bank (n) /bổŋk/ the shore of a river
2 a bear (n) /beə r / a large heavy animal with thick fur b bear (v) /beə r / give birth to
(+): the same or nearly the same
Homophony is a relation in which various words have the same sound form but have different meanings and written forms
1 a hour (n) /aʊə r / a period of sixty minutes b our (n) /aʊə r / of or belonging to us
2 a know (v) /nəʊ/ to have information in your mind b no (v) /nəʊ/ not any
Homography is a relation in which various words have the same written form but have different meanings and sound forms
1 a lead (v) /liːd/ to control a group of people b lead (n) /led/ a kind of metal
2 a bow (n) /bəʊ/ a weapon for shooting arrows b bow (v) /baʊ/ to bend your head or body forward
Polysemy is a relation in which a single word has two or more slightly different but closely related meanings Context plays a significant role in determining which meaning, among many possible meanings, is intended (Lee, 2023)
Word Meanings Common feature chip
(1) a long thin piece of potato
[+ small piece] (2) a thin slice of fried food
(3) very small piece of semiconductor
(4) a small piece that has been broken off a larger object break
(1) separate into smaller parts [+ make something no longer be used] (2) destroy or end something
(3) cause something to stop working
However, it is not always easy to decide whether the two senses are related or not Sometimes the relation is not obvious enough to decide whether it is a zero relation or a positive relation (Alkhuli, 2008)
A relatively reliable criterion that can help distinguishing between homonymic lexical items and a polysemic word is that senses of a polysemous word generally share at least one semantic feature; one sense is often identified as the primary sense while other senses are classified as secondary or figurative This is not in general true for homonyms when neither sense is likely to be “primary” in this way and homonymy is just an accidental similarity between words (Kroeger, 2019)
[+ simple] (2) obvious and clear to understand
(3) without marks or a pattern on it
(1) fast car: capable of moving at high speed
[+ high speed] (2) fast lane: that allows the traffic to move quickly
(3) fast food: prepared quickly and easily
Sentence Ambiguity
A word is ambiguous if it has two senses or more that are not synonymous with one another Similarly, a sentence is ambiguous if it has two senses or more that are not paraphrases of one another (Hurford et al., 2014)
Lexical ambiguity in a sentence results from the ambiguity of a word Therefore, both polysemy and homonymy can contribute to lexical ambiguity
Please, give me the file a Please, give me the container used to store paper b Please, give me the written record
A sentence is considered a structurally ambiguous when its structure permits more than one interpretation
Some causes of structural ambiguity may include: a The Conjunction structure
He saw three boys and girls a He saw three (boys and girls) b He saw (three boys) and girls b The prepositional-phrase structure
He saw the man with the telescope a He used the telescope to see the man b He saw the man who was carrying a telescope c The verb voice
The chicken is ready to eat a The fish is ready to eat something (active) b The fish is ready to be eaten by someone (passive) d The -ing form
Flying planes can be dangerous a Flying (a premodifier) planes can be dangerous b Flying (gerund) planes can be dangerous e The possessive form
John’s paintings a John is the owner of the paintings b John is the painter himself f The premodification the acquired language output a the acquired language output (acquired is the premodifier of language) b the acquired language output (acquired is the premodifier of output) g The negation structure
I won’t be in town until 4 o’clock a What I won’t do is to be in town until 4 o’clock b What I won’t do until 4 o’clock is to be in town h The ellipsis in comparative structure
I like Mary better than Samantha a I like Mary better than Samantha does b I like Mary better than I like Samantha i The dependent clause
John told the girl that Bill liked the story a What John told to the girl was that Bill liked the story b John told the story to the girl that Bill liked
Misunderstandings occur when a speaker has one referent in mind for a referring expression and the addressee is thinking of a different referent (Kreidler, 2014)
Referential ambiguity occurs when: a a linguistic expression may be a referring expression or not b a personal pronoun can be linked to either of two or more expressions c the pronoun you is used generically or specifically d a noun phrase with every can have specific reference or collective reference
(1) I wanted to buy a newspaper a a newspaper is a referring expression b a newspaper is a non-referring expression
Jefferson while he was in Paris a Adams wrote frequently to Jefferson while Adam was in Paris b Adams wrote frequently to Jefferson while Jefferson was in Paris
(3) If you want to get ahead, you have to work hard a you can be used generically b you can be used specifically (4) I’m buying a drink for everybody here a every can have specific reference b every can have collective reference
Underline the homonymous words in the following sentences and explain their different meanings
0 a He wrote with a pen an object used for writing or drawing b The sheep are in the pen an area surrounded by a fence to keep animals
1 a He kept the documents in the file b He sharpened the knife with a file
2 a The first school term was over b What is the meaning of this term?
3 a He is a kind person b This is a new kind
4 a She will type the letter b The suffix is one type of affixes
5 a He sat on the chair b He will chair the meeting
6 a Avoid fat food b He has a fat purse
7 a He is a big fan of country music b There was no air conditioning, just a ceiling fan turning slowly
Provide the phonemic transcriptions of the following words and write sentences including them to distinguish their meaning differences
Provide the phonemic transcriptions and the meanings of the words in each question Decide whether they are homonyms (HN), homophones (HP), or homographs (HG)
Decide whether the relation between the word meaning is a case of homonymy (H) or polysemy (P)?
0 a One day a week he fasts for health reasons b The accident was caused by people driving too fast
1 a Why don't you ring (up) Simon and ask him to the party? b Anne's alarm clock rang for half an hour before she woke
2 a He still goes to school b School is on strike today
3 a We had seats in the front row of the theatre b My parents often have rows, but my dad does most of the shouting
4 a Sarah climbed down the ladder b Sarah bought a down blanket
5 a You are in good shape now b You can shape it as you wish
6 a He is a mature person b It is a mature apple
7 a She sent him a bunch of red roses b Suddenly, all her anger rose to the surface
8 a I've made a list of places I'd like to visit while we're in Paris b I've listed some useful reading material on the handout
9 a The newspaper got wet in the rain b The newspaper fired some of its editing staff
10 a Have you seen the current issue of Vogue magazine?
He was swept out to sea by the strong current
11 a This phrase must be modified b You have to phrase it differently
12 a We won the match b You should always strike a match away from you
13 a The cottage has a well in the front garden b He's plays the piano well enough
14 a John was a good man He donated a lot of money to charity b Bill was a good painter His drawings always were exciting to look at
15 a We decided to have a spring break in Paris b Over the years the mattress has lost its spring
These following sentences are structurally ambiguous Explain the ambiguity by writing two paraphrases for each of them
1 The pupil needs some care a The student needs some care b The circular black area of your eye needs some care
2 They were waiting at the bank
3 How do you make a turtle fast?
5 I went out in the woods and found a bat
6 The long drill is boring
9 She took the right turn
12 The hunter went home with five bucks in his pocket
13 Headline: Reagan wins on budget, but more lies ahead
14 Headline: Drunk gets nine months in violin case
15 The batteries were given out free of charge
16 The house is almost sold, and we just need one more check
17 When decorating their room, remember that they are a big fan of space
These following sentences are structurally ambiguous Explain the ambiguity by writing two paraphrases for each of them
0 They produce dry fruit and vegetables a They produce both dry fruit and dry vegetables b They produce vegetables and dry fruit
1 He bought modern books and novels
2 He hit the thief with the stick
3 Is he really that kind?
4 Visiting patients may cause problems
5 He rolled up the carpet
6 John and Mary or Pat will go
7 The tennis courts are open to members only on Thursdays
8 They didn’t leave because they were angry
9 Your essay should contain four or five hundred words
10 John loves Richard more than
11 I didn’t sleep for two days
12 John kissed his wife, and so did Sam
14 Headline: Drunken drivers paid $1000 in ’84
15 Headline: Girl hit by car in hospital
Draw tree diagrams to illustrate the different senses of the following sentences
1 We watched the hunters with binoculars
2 He fed her cat food
3 Old men and women will be served first
4 The parents of the bride and the groom were waiting
5 We took our cat to a small animal hospital
6 I’ll find ten more interesting articles
7 He put the block in the box on the table
8 The tourists recognized the museum of the city they visited last year
9 The postman left a letter and a package for Ellen
10 The girl in the car that needed water is waiting
Explain the referential ambiguity in the following sentences by writing two paraphrases for each of them
0 Margaret couldn’t see Susan as she was busy a Margaret was busy b Susan was busy
1 I didn’t like my beard at first
Then it grew on me
2 Fred asked Amber where his golf clubs were
3 Jack told Kareem that a visitor was waiting for him
4 Each of the students has to read their book
5 Chris thought that Alex went home, and Pat did too
6 Alex loves her dog and Chris does, too
7 I am a big fan of Elvis Presley
8 She gave her fur coat to her daughter when she died
9 The toaster won’t fit in the box because it is too big
10 Headline: Two soviet ships collide, one dies
Identify the ambiguous sentences among these following sentences and decide whether they are lexical (L), structural (S), or referential ambiguity (R)
1 Alexis wanted to try on the dress in the store window
3 If you watch the video about the big tsunami, you’ll never forget it
4 Fred realized that Mary left when the party started
6 Growing flowers can be very interesting
7 Is life worth living? It depends on the liver
8 Have you seen his drawings?
10 He ate three apples and oranges
11 Shelby met Bucky He sniffed him
12 Have you seen the mug?
13 Luli is specializing in modern language teaching
16 Every girl in the class loves the teacher who gave her a good grade
17 I saw him in the garden
18 A boiled egg is hard to beat
19 You didn’t help Charlie as much as Michael
20 Two cars were reported stolen by the Groveton police yesterday
21 Jack told Kareem that a visitor was waiting for him
22 I didn’t finish that job for lack of time
23 I’m going to tell everybody that I know
24 Jane sits home while Tarzan swings
25 The rabbi married my sister
Fill in each of the blanks with an appropriate word
0 Semantics is a branch of linguistics which deals with meaning
1 ……… is a relation in which various words have the same written form but have different meanings and sound forms
2 A ……… is a sentence that is necessarily false, as a result of the senses of the words in it
3 ……… is a relation in which the referent of a word is totally included in the referent of another word
4 A ……… is an ideal string of words put together by the grammatical rules of a language
5 ……… is a relation in which two words have different (written and sound) forms and are opposite in meaning
6 A ……… is that part of the meaning of the utterance of a declarative sentence which describes some state of affairs
7 ……… is a relation in which various words have the same sound form but have different meanings and written forms
8 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
9 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
10 A ……… is a complete list of all typical qualities of the referent
11 ……… is a violation of semantic rules to create nonsense
12 Semantic ……… are the smallest units of meaning in a word
13 ……… is a relation 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 ……… synonymy 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 Semantic meaning is context-free whereas ……… 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
1 The one who broke the window is Ali
2 Ali is the one who broke the window
3 The breaker of the window is Ali
4 Ali is the breaker of the window
5 He who broke the window is Ali
6 Ali is he who broke the window
7 The window was broken by Ali
8 It is Ali who broke the window
9 What Ali did was to break the window
5 not 6 referring expression 7 abstract 8 meaningful
2 The boy may get sick as the girl / The boy may get sick as the girl
3 I see a boy climbing the tree
4 A boy must have broken the window
5 You are better than Ali in swimming
6 Planes are similar to birds.”
7 I never promised you a rose garden
8 My grandfather planted a rose garden
9 Leibniz is trying to find a solution to the equation
10 Leibniz discovered the solution to the equation
11 No cat likes being bathed
13 Abraham Lincoln was very close to his stepmother
14 I’m so hungry I could eat a horse
15 He was back in the hospital this weekend after getting kicked by a horse
16 Police searched the house for 6 hours but found no drugs
17 Susan married the first man who proposed to her
18 Every city has pollution problems
19 We swam in Lake Ontario
20 Somebody telephoned and left a message for you
21 I hope somebody will straighten up this file cabinet
22 The last person to leave the office should lock the door
23 Evans sometimes forgets to keep his eye on the ball
24 Take the cups off the table and put them in the cabinet
25 This was the site of the Stanwick Theater The stage was over here
26 You might wake the baby
27 The salesman who came here yesterday was back again today
28 I’d like to look at the gold ring with a ruby on the top shelf of that display case
30 She enjoyed herself at the party
31 There’s a policeman looking at your car
32 The script calls for a short fat guy
33 This is the ham sandwich that you asked for
34 We waited for twelve hours at Nairobi airport
36 Edward opened the cupboard and a pair of shoes fell out
37 Henry is going to make a cake
38 Doris passed through the office like a whirlwind
39 He was run over by a bus in Donnybrook
40 What we need is an army of volunteers
1 The capital lies on the seashore
6 Our dog is under the house
7 Jessica put some cheese on her toast
8 Tyler sends e-mail to his friends
9 Tyler sends his friends e-mail
12 Hector is afraid of the dark
13 My brother repaired my car
15 Seoul is one of the biggest cities in Asian
16 My hometown is not as crowded as this city
18 Helen looks like an old Barbie doll
0 How beautiful this garden is!
1 His rose garden needs more attention
2 Water is essential to life
3 He works as an engineer
4 Adnan is an honest man
5 The female cat at the zoo had a nasty accident yesterday
6 Look at this strange bird with its colorful feathers
7 Those houses are very expensive.
8 The man from the shop knows my secret
9 Thomas Edison was an inventor
10 Video games can be addictive
11 Mai is younger than her sister
12 The mother gave her baby a red apple
13 Most students use the computers in the library
15 His grandfather was also a musician
1 Canada is north of the United States
2 This book is about robots
3 The blue car has arrived
5 Look at the pretty cat at the far corner (2)
6 The package weighs five kilos
7 The teacher asked his student two questions (2)
8 Sheila is like her mother
10 The party was on Saturday
11 The ball is on the tree
14 The building stands near the river
15 The earth rotates on its axis
16 The next game will be at three o’clock
17 The pond froze last night
19 This present is for you
20 The university has closed down the faculty of the agriculture (2)
21 The university started on 15 April
22 Garfield is on the mat
23 Our meeting is after class
25 He bought his son a toy car
1 Canada is north of the United States
2 The plane is faster than the car
3 My cousins live in a crowded city of France
4 My mother’s company is moving soon
5 He stood there, facing the wall, surprised and wondering
6 Mrs Brown went for a walk with her daughter
7 She is now visiting a new company
8 My sister agreed to lend him the book
9 His wife is working at a university
10 Mainstream media feed information to a large number of people
0 I like this shirt better than that one
2 That was an amazing account
4 I agree with you concerning this issue
6 He is not there now
7 Go to him today or tomorrow
8 I am going to the movies
9 They tried to hurt me, but she came to the rescue
10 In this family, we rarely smoke or drink
11 I enjoy living in this city
12 Here is where we will place the statue
14 She was sitting over there
15 Here is a good spot; it is too sunny over there
16 We are coming to New York next week
17 How is the weather there?
18 I was disappointed that you didn’t come this afternoon
19 It is raining now, but I hope when you read this; it will be sunny
20 Matthew is an incredible athlete; he came in first in the race
21 I was born in London, and I have lived here all my life
22 Susan refuses to marry George because he smokes
23 Every boy should respect his mother
24 Every American male loves football; they watched three games last weekend
25 I’m not here now; please leave a message
Winston Churchill Margaret Thatcher Tony Blair
Borris Johnson Rishi Sunak, etc leader of the governing party
Capital of the United States Washington, D.C city which is the seat of the federal government of the United States of America Queen of the United
Queen Victoria Queen Mary the female head of the state of the United Kingdom
Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth II vegetable carrots, peas, onions, peppers, cabbage, etc all words that have the following semantic features: [+ plant, + food, - fruit]
6 (a) [+ things used to write] [+ inanimate]
3 Drinking container 8 Ways of cooking
4 Transportation means 9 Ways of looking
Semantic field Type Semantic field Type
3 means of transportation C learning AC
1 uncle, aunt, friend, grandmother, cousin relatives
2 car, ship, plane, lake, boat means of transport
3 honesty, generosity, truthfulness, reliability, world virtues
4 second, minute, court, hour, day time units
5 running, walking, thinking, jumping, skating sports
6 cafeteria, toy store, book shop, ocean stores
7 dog, fox, cow, cat, sheep domestic animals
8 shoe, shirt, skirt, suit, smart, clothes
9 doctor, hospital, nurse, secretary, postman occupations
10 Thursday, November, December, May, April months
11 good, nice, friendly, kind, bad positive qualities
12 German, Russia, England, Scotland, France countries
13 two, seven, twenty, first, one cardinal numbers
14 jump, run, tired, write, read actions
15 strawberry, carrot, peas, cauliflower, broccoli vegetables
3 courageous 8 lavatory, toilet, WC, washroom
1 thinner 2 behind 3 right of 4 less patient
5 learn 6 child of 7 follow 8 below
1 push 2 undress 3 go down 4 unlock
5 leave 6 turn left 7 unroll 8 deflate
13 return 14 output 15 untie 16 uncover, discover
1 shapes 2 order of time 3 buildings
1 strong 2 long 3 far 4 hot 5 dirty
6 fast 7 expensive 8 beautiful 9 smart 10 safe
11 high 12 deep 13 thick 14 many 15 much
16 often 17 sharp 18 heavy 19 large 20 hard
1 baby [+ weak] vs lift one ton [+ strong]
2 frighten [+ emotional] vs idea [– emotional]
3 puppy [– human] vs human [+ human]
4 unmarried [-married] vs married [+married] married [+married] vs bachelor [– unmarried]
5 slice [+ concrete] vs idea [– concrete]
6 hear [+ sound] vs cloud [– sound]
7 alive [+ alive] vs kill [– alive]
8 stones [– animate] vs eat [+ animate]
9 bachelor [– male] vs give birth [+ female]
10 happily [+ happy] vs unhappy [– happy]
11 colorless [– color] vs green [+ color] green [+visible] vs ideas [– invisible] idea [– animate], [+abstract] vs sleep [+ animate], [– abstract] sleep [– active] vs furiously [+ active] ideas [– emotional] vs furiously [+ emotional]
1 The needle is not long enough
2 Yesterday my son brough home a young dog
4 The window was broken by the boy
5 Not all countries have a coastline
6 Watching television is a good way to spend one’s time
7 My pal hates pole beans
8 I’ll seek for that book immediately
10 James is the child of John
11 This car belongs to my father
12 David bought the book from John
13 Jane was hugged by Steve
14 Hardly had we begun our work when it rained
15 It is very uncomfortable to sit in one place for so long
16 It was Ted that I saw at the party
17 It is 50 miles to the nearest service station
18 Kevin and Jenny are twins
19 Despite the bad weather they had a wonderful holiday
20 Girls with red hair are preferred by unmarried men
2 Paris is the capital of France
It is the most populous city
She is coming to stay with me
She will come next week
4 My mother works for a company
It is moving soon from Frankfurt
It is moving to London
The speed is up to 90 miles an hour
Household rules are determined by weekly meetings Activities are determined by weekly meetings
We learnt English with him
8 The name of Steve’s father is Curtis
I was only twenty meters from it
10 There is a kind of pepper
Its name is chilli pepper
It is high in antioxidants
It is packed with vitamin C
1 a He kept the documents in the file a type of container used to store papers b He sharpened the knife with a file a tool to make objects smooth
2 a The first school term was over a time period which something lasts for b What is the meaning of this term? an expression used to describe something
3 a He is a kind person generous, helpful b This is a new kind a group with similar characteristics
4 a She will type the letter to write using a machine b The suffix is one type of affixes a particular group of people or things
5 a He sat on the chair a seat for one person b He will chair the meeting to be the person in charge of a meeting
6 a Avoid fat food a substance from animals or plants used in cooking b He has a fat purse thick or large
7 a He is a big fan of country music someone who admires a person / a sport b There was no air conditioning, just a ceiling fan turning slowly a device used to more the air around
1 /meɪd/ made He was wearing a suit made from pure silk maid The apartments and villas have daily maid service
2 /reɪn/ reign Queen Victoria reigned over Britain from 1837 to 1901 rain I think it 's starting to rain
3 /naɪt/ knight He hopes to be made a knight for his work at the Bank of
England night We've been out every night this week
4 /siːn/ scene Lowry painted street scenes seen I've seen a few houses but none that I've really liked
5 /siː/ see Turn the light on so I can see sea We went swimming in the sea
6 /nəʊz/ nose I've got a sore throat and a runny nose knows She knows the name of every kid in the school
7 /njuː/ knew No one knew how many troops had died in combat new She's very creative and always coming up with new ideas
8 /sʌm/ some There's some cake in the kitchen if you'd like it sum Huge sums of money are spent on national defense
9 /feə(r) / fare Train fares are going up again fair Why should I have to do all the cleaning? It's not fair!
10 /sʌn/ sun The sun rises in the east and sets in the west son We have two sons and three daughters
11 /daɪ/ dye He's dyed his hair black die Twelve people died in the accident
12 /ðeə(r)/ there The museum is closed today We'll go there tomorrow their He gave them their coats
13 /həʊl/ whole I spent the whole day cleaning hole We dug a hole and planted the tree
14 /peə(r)/ pair I can't find a matching pair of socks pear The pear tree they planted has never borne fruit
15 /flaʊə(r)/ flour Thicken the sauce with a little flour flower They've got some beautiful flower beds in their garden
0 a lie (v) /laɪ/ to be in a horizontal position b lie (v) /laɪ/ to say something which is not true HN
1 a tear (v) /teə(r)/ to pull or be pulled apart HG b tear (n) /tɪə(r)/ a drop of salty liquid from the eye
2 a ate (v) /eɪt/ past simple of the verb eat HP b eight (n) /eɪt/ the number 8
3 a ground (n) /graʊnd/ the surface of the Earth HN b ground (v) /graʊnd/ to make something into small pieces or a powder
4 a might (adj) /maɪt/ power, strength or force HN b might (aux.) /maɪt/ past simple of the verb may
5 a lead (v) /liːd/ to control a group of people HG b lead (n) /led/ a soft, dark-grey, poisonous metal
6 a sound (n) /saʊnd/ something that you can hear HN b sound (adj) /saʊnd/ healthy
7 a wound (n) /wuːnd/ a damaged area of the body HG b wound (v) /waʊnd/ past simple of the verb wind
8 a peace /piːs/ freedom from war and violence HP b piece /piːs/ a part of something
9 a too /tuː/ more than is needed or wanted HP b two /tuː/ the number 2
10 a present (n) /ˈprez.(ə)nt/ something which you are given HN b present (adj) /ˈprez.(ə)nt/ in a particular place
1 They were waiting at the bank a They were waiting at the financial institution b They were waiting at the shore of the river
2 How do you make a turtle fast? a How can you make a turtle firmly fixed? b How can you make a turtle move quickly?
3 That robot is bright a That robot is shining b That robot is intelligent
4 I went out in the woods and found a bat a I found a baseball bat b I found a small animal
5 The long drill is boring a The long tool for drilling is boring b The long training exercise is boring
6 We like the ball a We like the round object b We like the dancing party
7 He is a conductor a He is a public transport ticket checker b He is the one who regulates the performance of a musical group
8 She took the right turn a She took the correct turn b She took the right-hand turn
9 She cannot bear children a She cannot tolerate children b She cannot give birth to children
10 My fiancée is reserved a My fiancée is kept (only for me) b My fiancée is quiet
11 The hunter went home with five bucks in his pocket a The hunter went home with five rabbits in his pocket b The hunter went home with five dollars in his pocket
12 Headline: Reagan wins on budget, but more lies ahead a Reagan wins on budget, but more things are waiting to be solved b Reagan wins on budget, but more dishonesties are waiting to be dealt with
13 Headline: Drunk gets nine months in violin case a Drunk gets nine months in a violin container b Drunk gets nine months in a court case
14 The batteries were given out free of charge a The batteries were given out without any payments b The batteries were given out without electricity inside
15 The house is almost sold, and we just need one more check a We need one more monetary check b We need one more examination
16 When decorating their room, remember that they are a big fan of space a They are like the empty areas inside the house b They are like the empty area outside the Earth
1 He bought modern books and novels a He bought novels and modern books b He bought books and novels, both of which are modern
2 He hit the thief with the stick a He hit the thief who was holding the stick b He used the stick to hit the thief
3 Is he really that kind? a Does he belong to that group (of people)? b Is he really so kind?
4 Visiting patients may cause problems a Patients who pay a visit may cause problems b To visit patients may cause a problem
5 He rolled up the carpet a He folded the carpet around itself b He rolled himself up the carpet
6 John and Mary or Pat will go a John will go with Mary or Pat b John and Mary will go, or Pat will go
7 The tennis courts are open to members only on Thursdays a Only members can use the tennis courts on Thursdays b Members can use the tennis courts on Thursdays only
8 They didn’t leave because they were angry a Because they were angry, they didn’t leave b They left not because they were angry
9 Your essay should contain four or five hundred words a Your essay should contain four words or five hundred words b Your essay should contain four hundred words or five hundred words
10 John loves Richard more than
Martha a John loves Richard more than Martha loves Richard b John loves Richard more than he loves Martha
11 I didn’t sleep for two days a The length of time that I didn’t sleep was two days b The length of time that I slept was not two days
12 John kissed his wife, and so did Sam a Sam kissed John’s wife b Sam kissed his own wife
13 I saw her ski c I saw the ski that belongs to her d I saw her move over snow on skis
14 Headline: Drunken drivers paid $1000 in ’84 a In 1984, drunken drivers had to pay a fine of
$1000 b Drunken drivers were paid $1000 in 1984
15 Headline: Girl hit by car in hospital a The girl hit by a car is now in hospital b The girl was hit by a car in the hospital
1 I didn’t like my beard at first
Then it grew on me a The beard grew on my face b The dislike grew on me
2 Fred asked Amber where his golf clubs were a Fred asked Amber where Fred’s golf clubs were b Fred asked Amber where Amber’s golf clubs were
3 Jack told Kareem that a visitor was waiting for him a Jack told Kareem that a visitor was waiting for Jack b Jack told Kareem that a visitor was waiting for Kareem
4 Each of the students has to read their book a The students have to read their own books b The students have to read the books assigned to them
5 Chris thought that Alex went home, and Pat did too a Pat thought that Alex went home b Pat went home too
6 Alex loves her dog and Chris does, too a Chris loves Alex’s dog b Chris loves Chris’s dog
7 I am a big fan of Elvis Presley a I am also a fan or Robbie Williams
Also Robbie Williams b Robbie Williams is also a fan of Elvis
8 She gave her fur coat to her daughter when she died a The mother died b The daughter died
9 The toaster won’t fit in the box because it is too big a The toaster is too big b The box is too big
10 Headline: Two soviet ships collide, one dies a Two soviet ships collide, one passenger dies b Two soviet ships collide, one ship is completely destroyed