ANSWER KEY Semantics: a coursebook

Unit 10 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 10 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

synonymy/synonym intension
paraphrase symmetrical hyponymy
hyponymy/hyponym entailment
superordinate term transitive relation
Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion co-hyponyms
sense relations

2. Do you think it is easier to learn words as unique items, or as part of a system involving
various kinds of sense relationships? That is, is it easier to learn words when we can relate them
in systematic ways or when we learn them separately? Briefly explain.
It is probably easier to learn words as part of a system of interlocking sense
relationships, because many, if not most, words share aspects of meaning with
each other which recur again and again. These shared aspects of meaning
make the acquisition process more efficient. For example, animal, dog, and cat,
though clearly different in meaning, share some components of meaning: they
refer to living non-human entities, and we know that dogs and cats are
subtypes of animal that are commonly used as pets, etc.

3. What is meant by synonymy? Why is it difficult to define this term? Do most synonyms have
identical or just similar meanings (or senses)? Do you think true synonymy exists? Try to
support your answer with appropriate examples.

Synonymy is a meaning relation between words in which the words share the
same or nearly the same meaning. It is difficult to define precisely, in part
because true cases are rare if they exist at all. True synonymy likely does not
exist, although some cases are close: sofa, couch, and davenport seem very
similar in meaning to most people.

4. Identify in the following sentences the pair of words in caps which appear to share the same
(or nearly the same) sense. In some (or all) cases it may be difficult to decide, so be ready to
explain the difficulty. Same (or nearly the same): 4a and 4b. 4e is unclear. The other
cases seem clearly different in meaning.
a. Fred always sleeps on the SOFA/COUCH.
b. The neighbors have a BIG/LARGE family.
c. The winning horse TROTTED/RAN to the finish line.
d. This table is very SMOOTH/FLAT.
e. That is a very HIGH/TALL building.
f. That is a very FLAT/SLIPPERY road.

5. Synonyms usually share some but not all senses. This becomes evident in certain of their uses.
For each apparent synonym pair below supply sentences in which the two words can be used
interchangably without altering the sense of the sentence, and then give another sentence using
one of the words in a different sense (where no interchange is possible with the same meaning).

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© James R. Hurford, Brendan Heasley and Michael B. Smith 2007
ANSWER KEY Semantics: a coursebook

a. small/little e. cheap/inexpensive
b. hard/difficult f. bright/well-lit
c. long/extended g. sad/dejected
d. lady/woman h. rob/steal

5a. Jane built a small/little house; Jane will arrive in a little/?small while.
5b. That's a hard/difficult project; This floor has a hard/?difficult surface.
5c. I took a long/extended trip; She had a long/?extended face.
5d. She's a pretty lady/woman; The First Lady/?Woman stayed there.
5e. The book is cheap/inexpensive; That's a cheap/?inexpensive joke.
5f. The room was bright/well-lit; He's a bright/?well-lit student.
5g. John looked sad/dejected; Today was a sad/?dejected day.
5h. They robbed/stole from the rich; They robbed/?stole the bank.

i. Do the same for the synonym pairs you identified in 4 above.

6. A special kind of synonymy falls under the heading of euphemism, whereby a culturally or
socially disagreeable word is replaced by a more agreeable one with essentially (though not
exactly) the same meaning. For each term below try to find several euphemisms which are less
harsh, offensive, or explicit. For item (h) try to think of several additional examples. One
example is given per item.

a. war (conflict) f. toilet (powder room)

b. crazy (disturbed) g. poor (disadvantaged)
c. damn (darn) h. crippled (handicapped)
d. fired from a job (laid off) i. stupid (slow)
e. blind (visually impaired) h. ___________

7. Sometimes synonyms can have either positive or negative connotations, as shown by the first
set below. Try to complete the other examples. A thesaurus may be helpful. Answers will vary
widely. Suggestions are given below.

NEUTRAL TERM POSITIVE NEGATIVE

careful scrupulous keep a sharp eye on

save money be frugal be miserly
reserved shy reclusive
levelheaded careful dull
curious inquisitive nosy
slow deliberate lagging
laugh chuckle snicker
talk converse gossip
old mature decrepit
young inexperienced immature

8. What is a paraphrase? How are the notions of synonymy and paraphrase distinguished in
semantics?

Paraphrases are sentences that have the same set of entailments: they
mutually entail each other. Synonymy evokes the notion of sameness of
meaning applied to individual predicates, while paraphrase evokes the same
notion applied to entire sentences (or the propositions expressed by those
sentences).
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© James R. Hurford, Brendan Heasley and Michael B. Smith 2007
ANSWER KEY Semantics: a coursebook

9. Supply as many paraphrases as you can for each of the following sentences. Remember that
each paraphrase must have the same set of entailments as the original sentence. Answers will
vary considerably. One possible paraphrase is given per item.

a. I gave the book to my friend. I gave my friend the book.

b. Your child took out the garbage. Your child took the garbage out.
c. It is likely that Fred will win the race. Fred will likely win the race.
d. John is easy to please. It's easy to please John.
e. The sales clerk received the money from me.
I received the money from the sales clerk.
f. Some students have a job. Not all students have a job.

10. What is meant by hyponymy? When predicates are organized according to their hyponymic
relationships with each other the resulting tree diagram is sometimes called a taxonomy.

Hyponymy is a meaning relation between predicates involving meaning

inclusion, where the meaning of one predicate is included in that of another.
Example: rose is a hyponym of flower, because the meaning of flower is
contained in the meaning of rose.

11. Organize each of the following groups of words into a taxonomy in which the superordinate
terms and their hyponyms are properly arranged with respect to each other. Be sure to identify
which terms are superordinate and which are hyponyms (and which are co-hyponyms). Identify
any problems you might have in organizing the data, and supply additional data if you can think
of them. It may be helpful to sketch a tree diagram. Are you aware of any other disciplines in
which such taxonomies are used?

a. hammer, screwdriver, wrench, awl, tool, pliers

b. capenter, electrician, craftsman, plumber
c. mammal, human, animal, amphibian, reptile, frog, snake
d. shatter, crack, break, smash, fracture
e. man, woman, husband, bachelor, wife, human, widow

11a: Superordinate: tool; the other terms are hyponyms of tool

11b: Superordinate: craftsman; the other terms are its hyponyms
11c: Superordinate: animal; mammal, amphibian, and reptile are
hyponyms of animal; human is a hyponym of mammal, frog is a hyponym of
amphibian, and snake is a hyponym of reptile
11d: Superordinate: break; the other terms are hyponyms of break
11e: Superordinate: human; man and woman are hyponyms of human;
husband and bachelor are hyponyms of man; wife and widow
are hyponyms of woman

12. Explain what it means to say that hyponymy involves entailment.

Both are one-way meaning relations in which the meaning of one is included in
that of the other. But hyponymy is a one-way relation between individual
predicates, whereas entailment is a one-way relation between sentences (or
more precisely, between the propositions expressed by the sentences).

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© James R. Hurford, Brendan Heasley and Michael B. Smith 2007
ANSWER KEY Semantics: a coursebook

13. For each sentence below give another sentence which the first one entails, and then give one
which the first does NOT entail. Answers will vary considerably. One example is given for
each.

a. John is a bachelor. Entails John is unmarried. Does not entail John is sad.
b. John is a widower. Entails John is a man. Does not entail John is rich.
c. Mary is divorced. Entails Mary was married. Does not entail Mary is old.
d. This is a tulip. Entails This is a flower. Does not entail This is pretty.
14. Hyponymy and synonymy refer to relations between pairs of words., while entailment and
paraphrase refer to relations between pairs of sentences. Supply the correct terms in the blanks.

Hyponymy is to entailment as synonymy is to paraphrase.

15. What does the Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion have to say about the entailment relationship
between the following two sentences?

a. Mary bought a house.

b. Mary bought a building.

Sentence a entails sentence b, because the house is a hyponym of building.

16. Why does the Basic Rule of Sense Inclusion NOT work for the following pairs of sentences?
How must it be amended to work here?

a. Mary did not buy a house.

b. Mary did not buy a building.

Sentence a does not entail sentence b, even though house is a hyponym of

building. If the sentences contain a negative, such as not, then the entailment
relation is reversed: here sentence b entails sentence a.

c. Mary bought all the houses in town.

d. Mary bought all the buildings in town.

Parallel to the relation between 16a and 16b: here sentence c does not entail
sentence d, even though house is a hyponym of building. If the sentences
contain the universal quantifier all, then the entailment relation is once again
reversed: here sentence d entails sentence c.
17. Consider the following pair of sentences. Is there any entailment relation existing between
them? Explain why or why not.

a. Mary bought a big house.

b. Mary bought a big building.

No entailment relation exists between either sentence in 17, even though house
is a hyponym of building. This is likely due to the presence of the gradable
adjective big modifying house and building in each sentence. Somehow this
upsets the relation between hyponymy and entailment described in the Basic
Rule of Sense Inclusion.

www.cambridge.org/hurford
© James R. Hurford, Brendan Heasley and Michael B. Smith 2007