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Sample Mid Course Test

This document appears to be a sample mid-course test for an English Semantics course. The test contains 6 questions assessing various semantic concepts like reference, generic sentences, equative/non-equative sentences, deixis, predication, and types of antonyms. It provides examples for students to analyze and classify based on the semantic properties being tested. The test code, date, time allocation, and space for student details are also included at the top.

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249 views

Sample Mid Course Test

This document appears to be a sample mid-course test for an English Semantics course. The test contains 6 questions assessing various semantic concepts like reference, generic sentences, equative/non-equative sentences, deixis, predication, and types of antonyms. It provides examples for students to analyze and classify based on the semantic properties being tested. The test code, date, time allocation, and space for student details are also included at the top.

Uploaded by

Hương Thảo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SAMPLE MID-COURSE TEST 2019

Course: English Semantics Test code: SEMID000


Course code: 4113603 Credits: 02
Date: Time allocation: 50’
FACULTY OF ENGLISH
SCORE EXAMINER Code number
Name: ………………….................................
Class: …………………………….......................
ID number:………………............................

1. Examine the following words and answer the following question


Eiffel Tower; hate; my uncle; or; Bill Gate; between; today; Vietnam; beautiful; the man over
there; Mars; this chair
Which of these expressions have
a. variable reference b. constant reference c. no reference

2. Which of the following are generic sentences? Explain.

Sentence Yes/No Why


(1) Gentlemen prefer blondes

(2) Jasper is a twit .

(3) The male of the species guards the


eggs.

(4) A wasp makes its nest in a hole in


a tree.

(5) A wasp just stung me on the neck.

3) Are the following sentences equative (E) or non-equative (N)? Why (Why not)?
Sentence E N Why
E.g. Fred is the man with the gun  - Reversable: The man with the gun is Fred.
- The man with the gun & Fred: Referring exp.
1 John is the person in the
corner.
2 Henry the Eighth is the current.
President of the USA.
4 Cairo is not the largest city in
Africa.
4 Cairo is a large city.
5 Dr Jekyll is Mr Hyde.

4. Deixis
Person deixis
-This subtype of deixis concerns person.
-In English (and many other languages), person deixis is organized in a basic three-part division,
grammaticalized in the first (s/w (+ others)), second (addressee(s) (+ others)) and third persons.
-Personal subject and object pronouns, as well as possessive pronouns, can convey person
deixis.
Temporal deixis
-This subtype of deixis concerns time.
-Temporal deixis may be 'pure', as in now, then, or before, afterwards, as adverbs, or ‘impure’,
which shows interaction between deictic and non-deictic methods of time reckoning, i.e. the
time unit is specified (this afternoon, next year).
-Tense is a 'pure' deictic device: in
John worked/works/will work in a library.

Spatial deixis
-Spatial deixis concerns space.
-Like temporal deixis, spatial deixis may be 'pure', as in here, there, or over, under, etc. when
they are adverbs, and the demonstrative pronouns.
-‘Impure’ spatial deixis shows interaction between deictic and non-deictic methods of space
reckoning: two miles away, this side of the box, etc.
-The demonstratives may also indicate empathetic deixis (psychological proximity or distance:
compare I’m fond of this picture with I’m tired of that picture.
-Spatial deixis is also expressed with the motion verbs come and go, bring and take

Social deixis
-Social deixis concerns the social situation in which the speech event occurs.
-There is a high degree of interaction between person deixis and social deixis:
-The T/V (tu / vous) distinction, virtually non-existent in contemporary English;
-Honorific forms reserved for authorized recipients (Your Honour, Mr President, etc.).
-Vocatives with different degrees of politeness (Your Highness, sir, madam... (hey) you).

4.1. Underline the deictic expressions, and state the type of deixis in each case (person,
spatial, temporal, social) and be able to explain why they are decitic.
(In certain cases, deixis belongs to more than one type)
(1) This ring costs sixty euros.
(2) I am looking at those clouds over there.
(3) My friend has gone back to Paris.
(4) You showed me that picture last week.
(5) Sorry, sir. We haven’t got any more tickets.
(6) You are my best friend here.

4.2. Read the following sentences and decide whether the speaker gives any
indication of his/her location in space or time, and state this indication.
Underline the expression or expressions by which this indication is given (not all deictic
expressions!):
(1) 1989 will be a good year for you.
(2) Sally is going back to London next summer.
(3) I enjoy living in Madrid because the weather is lovely here.
Explain why, in sentence c, the expression concerned is anaphoric as well as deictic.

5) Pick out the expressions of the following sentence that van be used as referring
expressions or predicator. Please give reason(s) for your choice
Celine Dion is singing.

a. Referring expression Reason:

b. Predicator Reason:

6) In the following sentences, indicate the predicators and arguments as in the above examples:
Sentence Predicator Degree Argument (referring
expression)
E.g. I am hungry. hungry 1 I
(1) Donald is afraid of my dog.
(2) Armstrong is putting put the flag on the
surface of the moon.
(3) Dr. Jekyl is Mr. Hide
(4) Canberra is between Sydney and
Melbourne.
(5) The bush in the garden is growing.

2. Which of the following predicates are


a. binary anonyms b. converse antonyms
c. gradable antonyms d. multiple incompatibles
cat – dog; easy – difficult; good – bad; better than – worse than; deciduous – evergreen; pass
– fail; lend – borrow; car - truck
For each group of antonyms, please give reasons(s) for your choice
Types of binary antonyms converse antonyms gradable antonyms multiple antonyms
antonyms
Predicates

Reason

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