Semantics test

I. Mark (√) each of the following sentences true (T) or false (F).

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. A man can be used as a referring expression or a non-referring expression, depending on
the …………………..……………….
2. ……………………………..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
…………………….……………….. reference.
4. The sense of man…..……………….……………. the sense of human.
5. Offer in the sentence I was offered a job is a ………………...-place predicate.
6. Some sentences are …………….………………. ambiguous in that the meanings of
their component words can be combined in more than one way.
7. …………….……………………. antonyms are predicates which come in pairs and
between them exhaust all the relevant possibilities.
 8. The term ……………..…………….is used when one form (written or spoken) has two
or more unrelated meanings.
9. Proper names can’t be used as …………………..………………………….
10. ………………………….…. is the relation between linguistic exprssions 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.
Example: husband, human, man> human, man, husband
1. creature, living things, dog, animal >………………………………..……………….
2. entity, student, freshman, person >………..……………………………….………….
3. product, tool, thing, garden tool >………..……………….…………………….…….
4. plant, pine, living things, tree >…………………………..……………….…………
5. coffee mug, mug, drinking vessel >…….….…………………………………………
6. carrot, plant, living things, vegetable >……………….………………………………
7. cook, sauté, fry>………………….…….……………………………………………..
8. green vegetable, cabbage, vegetable >…………………………………………………
9. product, saw, hacksaw, tool >……….…………………………………………………
10. thing, building, structure, 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 manly-virile 11 fixed- loose

2 long-short 12 obey-disobey

3 long-extended 13 rye-wry

4 employer-employee 14 yang-yin

5 meat-beef 15 go down-descend

6 lend- borrow

7 husband-wife

8 arms-alms

9 mug- beer mug

10 slow-fast
V. Tick (√) each of the following sentences (A) for analytic, (S) for synthetic or (E) for
equative, as appropriate.

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?
Example: That man is a woman. > C (contradiction)
1. My brother is jealous of me because I am an only child. >
2. Nobody goes to the restaurant because it’s too crowded. >
3. Alan lives in Hanoi. Alan lives in Vietnam. >
4. He has tons of stuff to throw away. He needs to get rid of a lot of junk. >
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.>
6. Elisa plays the guitar. Someone plays a musical instrument. >
7. Jack put off the meeting. Jack postponed the meeting. >
8. Jack swims beautifully. Jack swims. >
9. Let me say again: I never repeat myself. >
10. Children may feed animals. Children have permission to feed animals. >
VII.Explain by paraphrasing two meanings of each of the following sentences.
Example: I’m selling five day old chicks.
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)
1b)
2. The hostess greeted the girl with a smile.
2a)
2b)
3. The architect gave the secretary a rise after she typed the report.
3a)
3b)
4. He stood watching the fireworks in the backyard.
4a)
4b)
5. We were late but the coach was late too.
5a)
5b)
VIII. Briefly explain the following questions.

1. Is there something odd about the following sentences?

The television drank my water
His dog wrote poetry.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Is John in ‘John is my best friend’ a referring expression?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Are there any referring expressions in ‘A dog is an animal’?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Do the following words refer to things in the world?
near, nice, go, the, and, probable, but
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

5. Can different expressions have the same referent?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
IX. Circle the answer of your choice.
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
 Practice Test

I. Mark (√) each of the following sentences true or false.

TRUE FALSE

1 When the same linguistic expression refers to

different referents, it has variable reference.

2 Some expressions are almost always referring

expressions no matter what sentences they occur in.

3 Binary antonyms are predicates which come in pairs

and between them exhaust all the relevant
possibilities.

4 The sense relation illustrated by pig, sow, boar,

piglet is synonymy.

5 We like the ball is a grammatically ambiguous

sentence.

6 A dancer in His father married a dancer can be

either a referring expression or a non-referring
expression, depending on the context.

7 The present king of Vietnam has no referent.

8 Different expressions can have the same referent.

9 Marry in Nancy married a Norwegian is a two-place

predicate.

10 The meanings of the underlined words in I can

dance and Put it in a can are unrelated.

11 The denotative meaning shows people’s emotions

and attitudes towards what the words mean.

12 Plant is the superordinate term; tree is a hyponym of

plant.

13 That man is human has the property of analyticity.

14 Man is denotatively described as [+human], [-old],
[+animate] and [+male].

15 Any ambiguity resulting from the ambiguity of a

word is a lexical ambiguity.

II. Circle the answer of your choice.

1. Semantics is…..
A. The study of rules governing the sounds that form words
B. The study of meaning in language
C. The study of the rule governing word formation

2. The phrase my university usually has ……….reference.

A. constant
B. variable
C. no

3. The…... of a word is the relationship between that word and the thing it refers to.
A. referent
B. reference
C. meaning

4. The sense relation between the predicates love and hate is a kind of……..
A. polysemy
B. synonymy
C. antonymy

5. Sentences that may be true or false depending on how the world is are called…..
A. analytic
B. equative
C. synthetic

6. A sentence which expresses the same proposition as another sentence is a/an……...of that
sentence.
A. paraphrase
B. entailment
C. contradiction
7. The expression my husband, uttered on different occasions with different topics of
conversation, has a number of different……....
A. meanings
B. referents
C. arguments

8. In English, the identity of the…….... of two different referring expressions is expressed

by a form of the verb be.
A. referents
B. reference
C. people

9. I in I never speak to you again refers to the speaker of the………..

A. phrase
B. sentence
C. utterance

10. The phrase a tall tree can be …....

A. a referring expression
B. a non-referring expression
C. sometimes a referring expression and sometimes a non-referring expression, depending
on context and circumstances of use

11. The predicators in sentences can be of various parts of speech:…....

A. adjectives, verbs, nouns, and pronouns
B. nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives
C. nouns, verbs, adjectives, and prepositions

12. The sentence A tall, handsome stranger entered the saloon has two…....
A. referring expressions
B. predicators
C. predicates

13. In general, verbs, adjectives, and prepositions can be used as…....

A. predicates
B. predicators
C. arguments

14. John’s nine-year-old brother is a boy is a/an…....

A. generic sentence
B. synthetic sentence
C. analytic sentence

15. Paper tigers are not made of paper is not a/an…....

A. equative sentence
B. analytic sentence
C. contradictory sentence

16. Between in Chicago is between Los Angeles and New York is a/an…...
A. referring expression
B. argument
C. predicator

17. Semantics deals with the characterization of ………...meaning.

A. speaker
B. sentence
C. intended

18. The pronouns in I like her a lot are…...

A. anaphoric
B. cataphoric
C. deictic

19. An entailment of Climbing plants can look strange is …..

A. Plants that climb up walls can look strange.
B. People who climb plants can look strange.
C. Climbing tall plants can look strange.

20. A sentence is considered as…….....ambiguous when its structure permits more than one
interpretation.
A. lexically
B. syntactically
C. semantically

21. The degree of a predicate depends on…….

A. the number of predicates
B. the number of objects
C. the number of arguments that a predicate has
22. The relationship between the sentence I detest semantics and I am not fond of semantics
is that:
A. They are paraphrases of each other.
B. The first entails the second.
C. The second entails the first.

23. Settle in The snow didn’t settle is…..

A. a zero-place predicate
B. a two-place predicate
C. a one-place predicate
24. The sentence A pike is a kind of fish is…..
A. ambiguous
B. equative
C. unambiguous

25. Which of the following sentences is not a generic sentence?

A. My mother is a woman.
B. A dog is a wonderful house pet.
C. Roses are red.

26. In which of the following sentences did a form of the verb be express the identity
predicate?
A. Clark Kent is Superman.
B. Clark Kent is an actor.
C. Clark Kent is mild-mannered.

27. Which of the following sentences is ambiguous?

A. John passed the hammer and saw through the window.
B. John passed the saw and the hammer through the window.
C. John passed the hammer and the saw through the window.

28. Which of the following sentences is contradictory?

A. A bird lays eggs.
B. Kings are male.
C. All misers waste money.

29. Is in Hanoi is a big city 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 an argument and a predicator
30. Mary thinks the present is nice is a lexically ambiguous sentence because the ambiguity
is caused by....
A. polysemy
B. synonymy
C. homonymy
31. Identify a pair of gradable antonyms.
A. sell-buy
B. illegal-legal
C. love-hate

32. Identify a pair of binary antonyms.

A. love-hate
B. single-married
C. thin-thick

33. Identify an example of lexical ambiguity.

A. I’m taking a course in modern English grammar.
B. Because of the cold, I had to put on a warm coat.
C. She can give more possible conclusions.

34. Identify an example of structural ambiguity.

A. They fed her dog biscuits.
B. We were late but the coach was late too.
C. They were waiting at the bank.

35. Which of the following is correct?

A. Synonymy is to entailment as hyponymy is to paraphrase.
B. Synonymy is to paraphrase as hyponymy is to entailment.
C. Synonymy is to hyponymy as entailment is to paraphrase.

THE END
 SEMANTICS TEST
I. What is the speaker meaning of the following?
1. (mother to child pulling a cat’s tail) I’m sure the cat likes you to pull its tail.

2. Thank God it’s Friday.

3. (father to child) What in the world did you do that for?

4. I’ll eat my hat if he lives up to his campaign promises.

II. Underline the referring expressions in the following sentences.

1. You may not know the answer to this problem.
2. The earth is the third planet from the sun.
3. If someone calls, tell ‘em I’m out.
4. The apple you eat every day won’t keep the doctor away.
5. John attacked a man.
6. The Morning star is the Evening star.
7. Nam loves his wife.
8. Peter danced with Mary.
9. My mother is a worker.
10. A tiger is a dangerous animal.

III. Mark the following words as one-, two-, or three-place predicates.

1. yawn: 2. steal: 3. different: 4. be taller than:
5. tell: 6. sell: 7. imagine: 8. under:
9. put: 10: sister

IV. Classify the following pairs as binary antonyms (B), converses (C), gradable
antonyms (G), or multiple incompatibles (M.I).

1. cruel-kind > 6. cricket-football>

2. wife-husband> 7. win-lose>
3. quickly-slowly> 8. present-absent>
4. above-below> 9. true-false>
5. precede-follow> 10. hot-cold>

1
V. Explain by paraphrase two meanings of each of the following.

1. John promised to behave himself at the party.

2. Did you see her roast chicken?

3. I like good food and wine.

4. John paid the man who made this chair yesterday.

VI. Briefly answer the following questions.

1. What is the difference between paraphrase and entailment?

2. A hyponymy is a more specific term as it has an extra element of meaning. Does it

apply to fewer or more things?

3. What is the difference between hyponymy and homonymy?

4. What is the difference between sense and reference?

KEY

I. What is the speaker meaning of the following?

1. ( mother to child pulling a cat’s tail) I’m sure the cat likes you to pull its tail.
- It hurts the cat and so you shouldn’t do it.
2. Thank God it’s Friday.
- This week is almost finished.
3. You can say that again.
- The speaker completely agrees.
4. (father to child) What in the world did you do that for?
- You should not have done that.
5. I’ll eat my hat if he lives up to his campaign promises.
- The speaker is extremely confident that the person referred to will not carry out his
campaign promises.

2
II. Underline the referring expressions in the following sentences.
1. You may not know the answer to this problem.
2. The earth is the third planet from the sun.
3. If someone calls, tell ‘em I’m out.
4. The apple you eat every day won’t keep the doctor away.
5. John attacked a man.
6. The Morning star is the Evening star.
7. Nam loves his wife.
8. Peter danced with Mary.
9. My mother is a worker.
10. A tiger is a dangerous animal.

III. Mark the following words as one-, two-, three-, or four-place predicates.

1. yawn: 1 2. steal: 2 3. different: 2 4. be taller than: 2

5. tell: 3 6. sell: 2/3 7. imagine: 2 8. under: 2
9. put: 3 10: sister 2

IV. Classify the following pairs as binary antonyms (B), converses (C), gradable
antonyms (G), or multiple incompatibles (M.I).

1. cruel-kind > G 6. cricket-football> M.I.

2. wife-husband> M.I./C 7. win-lose> B
3. quickly-slowly> G 8. present-absent>B
4. above-below> C 9. true-false>B
5. precede-follow> C 10. hot-cold>G

V. Explain by paraphrase two meanings of each of the following.

1. John promised to behave himself at the party.

At the party, John promised to behave himself.
John has promised to behave himself at the party.

2. Did you see her roast chicken?

Did you see the chicken that she roasted?

Did you see her roasting a chicken?

3. I like good food and wine.

I like good food and good wine.

I like good food and any wine.

3
 4. John paid the man who made this chair yesterday.
Yesterday, John paid the man who made this chair.
The man made this chair yesterday. John paid him.

VI. Briefly answer the following questions.

1. What is the difference between paraphrase and entailment?

+ Paraphrase: sentences> the same meaning > symmetric

+ Entailment: sentences> the meaning of the first sentence
includes the meaning of the second. > asymmetric

2. How can we identify an equative sentence?

+ Two referring expressions > the same referent

Sentence pattern: SVC
Verb: be > predicator > the identity relation
+ example (Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam)

3. What is the difference between hyponymy and homonymy?

+ A hyponym is a word whose meaning contains the entire meaning of another word,
known as the superordinate. + examples
+ Homonymy is the relation between words whose forms
are the same but whose meanings are different and
cannot be connected. + examples

4. What is the difference between sense and reference?

+ Sense is the relationships between linguistic units (words, phrases, and sentences)
+ examples
+ Reference is the relationship between language and the
outside world > two kinds of reference: constant reference and variable
reference + examples

4
5
 SEMANTICS

I. Which of the semantic relations (paraphrase (P), entailment (E), contradiction (C)) is
exemplified in each of the following sentences?

1. Flight 20458 arrives and departs at 8:00 a.m.

2. Cats are vegetables.
3. That girl is her own mother’s mother.
4. My brother married a doctor. My male sibling joined in wedlock with a physician.
5. They have love-hate relationship.
6. My husband is living. I am a widow.
7. My brother is an only child.
8. Othello killed Desdemona. Desdemona died.
9. He descended from the ground floor to the attic.
10. Jane ate a piece of chicken. Jane ate a piece of poultry.

II. Consider the pair of words given in (1)-(20) below, and decide which of the following
terms best characterises the relationship: gradable antonyms (G), binary antonyms (B),
converse antonyms(C), homonyms (H), hyponyms (HY), synonyms (S).

1 behind – in front 11 captive- free

2 fast-slow 12 possible-impossible

3 fixed- loose 13 doe-dough

4 leave-stay 14 male-female

5 chair - bed-chair 15 deep- shallow

6 teacher- pupil 16 use-employ

7 parent-child 17 sugar-icing sugar

8 aural-oral 18 bequeath-inherit

9 in - out 19 obey-disobey

10 moving-stationary 20 strike- attack

III. Use an appropriate word or phrase to complete each of the following sentences.

1. Relatedness of meaning accompanying identical form is technically known

as......................……………………………………………………..
2. Words, phrases, and sentences have sense and can have..................………...
3. “Pilfer” is a hyponym of “………........................................................……”.
4. In most dialects of English, stubborn and obstinate are…………………….
5. Ceiling and sealing are…………………………….………………………..
6. The pronouns in I like her a lot are ………………………………………..
7. A sentence which expresses the same proposition as another is a………...…
of that sentence.
8. In practice, it is difficult to draw a clear line between homonymy and ……..
9. Mary and herself in Mary is different from herself refer to the………referent.
10. The phrase English literature teacher constitutes a case of……....….ambiguity.
IV. Complete the following statements.

1. The shared semantic features of sister, aunt, mother, niece are

2. A paraphrase of “Bachelors prefer red-haired girls” is

3. An entailment of “I cooked an egg” is

4. A superordinate of “rose” is
5. A homophone of “aisle” is

6. Hate and love are

7. Generous and stingy are

8. A superordinate of stroll is

9. Thick and thin are antonyms.

10. A hyponym of “fish” is