Sentences and Meaning: Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics

Practice questions (18)

Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.

1. A phrase-structure rule such as S → NP VP primarily states which of the following?

   1. That a sentence consists of a noun phrase followed by a verb phrase as its immediate constituents
   2. That the words of a sentence are arranged in a completely flat list, with no internal grouping into phrases at all
   3. That every well-formed sentence must contain at least one prepositional phrase
   4. That meaning is computed first and syntax assigns no structure at all
   Show answer

   Answer: A — That a sentence consists of a noun phrase followed by a verb phrase as its immediate constituents

   The rule says S has two immediate constituents, an NP and a VP, capturing hierarchy rather than a flat list. Sentences need not contain a PP, and syntax does assign structure; the rule is about constituency, not about computing meaning first.

2. Which test result correctly shows that 'the old book' is a single constituent in 'She read the old book'?

   1. The letters inside the words can be rearranged without changing the meaning of the sentence
   2. The single word 'old' can be moved to the front of the sentence on its own
   3. Only the word 'book' can be replaced by the pronoun 'it', leaving the rest in place
   4. It can be replaced by the pro-form 'it' and can stand alone as the answer to 'What did she read?'
   Show answer

   Answer: D — It can be replaced by the pro-form 'it' and can stand alone as the answer to 'What did she read?'

   Pro-form substitution (it = the old book) and standing alone as an answer are classic constituency diagnostics, and both pick out the whole NP. Rearranging letters is not a syntactic test; 'old' alone is not a constituent here; replacing only 'book' with 'it' does not target the phrase as a unit.

3. In X-bar theory, the object of a verb occupies which position?

   1. The specifier position of the verb phrase, above the bar level
   2. The complement position, as a sister of the head verb
   3. An adjunct position outside the maximal projection of the verb
   4. The head position itself, replacing the verb
   Show answer

   Answer: B — The complement position, as a sister of the head verb

   Under the schema X′ → X Complement, the object is the complement, a sister of the head verb inside V′. The specifier hosts elements like subjects or determiners, adjuncts attach at the X′ level, and the head position is the verb itself.

4. Which statements about the sub-modules of syntax are correct? Select all that apply.

   1. The Theta Criterion requires each argument to bear exactly one theta-role
   2. Binding Principle A requires an anaphor such as a reflexive to be bound within its local domain
   3. Case theory's Case Filter rules out an overt noun phrase that lacks Case
   4. Binding Principle C permits a name to be bound by a c-commanding pronoun
   Show answer

   Answer: A — The Theta Criterion requires each argument to bear exactly one theta-role; B — Binding Principle A requires an anaphor such as a reflexive to be bound within its local domain; C — Case theory's Case Filter rules out an overt noun phrase that lacks Case

   The Theta Criterion, Principle A and the Case Filter are all stated correctly. Principle C is the opposite of the false option: an R-expression (a name) must be free, so it may not be bound by a c-commanding pronoun.

5. In the sentence 'He admires John's paintings', can 'he' and 'John' refer to the same person, and why?

   1. Yes, because 'he' comes before 'John' in the linear order of the sentence
   2. Yes, because a pronoun may always corefer with any name that appears later
   3. No, because 'he' c-commands 'John', and Principle C requires the name to be free
   4. No, because a reflexive pronoun would be required for coreference in this position
   Show answer

   Answer: C — No, because 'he' c-commands 'John', and Principle C requires the name to be free

   The subject 'he' c-commands 'John' (inside the object NP), and Principle C requires an R-expression like 'John' to be free, so they cannot corefer. Coreference is governed by c-command, not by linear precedence, so the 'comes before' reasoning is wrong; and a reflexive would be ungrammatical here as the subject.

6. In the sentence 'She gave him a book', how many arguments (counting the subject) does the verb give take? Give your answer as a whole number.

   Numerical answer — type the value.

   Show answer

   Answer: 3

   Give is ditransitive, with three arguments: the giver ('she', Agent), the recipient ('him', Goal) and the thing given ('a book', Theme). Counting only the two objects and forgetting the subject gives the wrong answer 2; the correct count is 3.

7. The phrase 'old men and women' is structurally ambiguous. How many distinct structural readings does it have? Give your answer as a whole number.

   Numerical answer — type the value.

   Show answer

   Answer: 2

   There are two bracketings: [old [men and women]], where 'old' modifies the whole coordination so both groups are old, and [[old men] and women], where 'old' modifies only 'men' so the women need not be old. Two structures means two readings.

8. Which pairing of a syntactic framework with the scholars most associated with it is correct?

   1. Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG) — Joan Bresnan and Ronald Kaplan
   2. Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG) — Joan Bresnan and Ronald Kaplan
   3. The Minimalist Programme — Carl Pollard and Ivan Sag
   4. Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG) — Noam Chomsky working alone
   Show answer

   Answer: A — Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG) — Joan Bresnan and Ronald Kaplan

   LFG was developed by Joan Bresnan and Ronald Kaplan. HPSG is Pollard and Sag's, the Minimalist Programme is Chomsky's, and LFG is certainly not Chomsky's work alone, so the other options swap the names.

9. A child acquires a complex grammar rapidly despite hearing limited and imperfect data that underdetermines the adult system. In the generative tradition this observation is called the ___, and it is taken to motivate ___.

   1. cooperative principle ... the conversational maxims
   2. Case Filter ... abstract case assignment
   3. principle of compositionality ... truth-conditional semantics
   4. poverty of the stimulus ... Universal Grammar
   Show answer

   Answer: D — poverty of the stimulus ... Universal Grammar

   The gap between rich adult competence and limited input is the poverty of the stimulus, used to argue for an innate Universal Grammar. The cooperative principle and compositionality belong to pragmatics and semantics, and the Case Filter is a sub-module of syntax, not the acquisition argument.

10. Which statements about Universal Grammar and competence are correct? Select all that apply.

    1. Universal Grammar is proposed as an innate basis shared by all human languages
    2. Chomsky distinguishes tacit (implicit) knowledge of grammar from explicit knowledge about it
    3. Core grammar is the UG-determined system, while the periphery covers idioms, borrowings and exceptions
    4. Competence refers to the error-filled record of what speakers actually produce in real time
    Show answer

    Answer: A — Universal Grammar is proposed as an innate basis shared by all human languages; B — Chomsky distinguishes tacit (implicit) knowledge of grammar from explicit knowledge about it; C — Core grammar is the UG-determined system, while the periphery covers idioms, borrowings and exceptions

    Innate UG, the tacit/explicit distinction and the core/periphery split are all correct. The false option describes performance, not competence: competence is the speaker's internalised knowledge, while the real-time, error-prone record is performance.

11. The principle of compositionality, commonly associated with Frege, states which of the following?

    1. The meaning of a complex expression is determined by the meanings of its parts and the way they are combined
    2. The meaning of a sentence is fixed entirely by the particular situation and context in which it happens to be uttered
    3. Every word carries exactly one meaning, independent of the words around it
    4. Meaning cannot be assigned to any sentence that has never been heard before
    Show answer

    Answer: A — The meaning of a complex expression is determined by the meanings of its parts and the way they are combined

    Compositionality derives the meaning of a whole from the meanings of its parts and their mode of combination, which is exactly what lets us understand novel sentences. Context-dependence is pragmatics, one-meaning-per-word ignores polysemy, and the claim that unheard sentences cannot be interpreted contradicts the creativity that compositionality explains.

12. The pair alive / dead and the pair hot / cold illustrate two kinds of antonymy. Which description is correct?

    1. Both pairs are gradable antonyms that admit intermediate degrees between the two ends
    2. alive/dead are complementary (binary) antonyms, while hot/cold are gradable antonyms
    3. alive/dead are converse antonyms, while hot/cold are complementary antonyms
    4. Both pairs are converse (relational) antonyms in the same way as buy / sell
    Show answer

    Answer: B — alive/dead are complementary (binary) antonyms, while hot/cold are gradable antonyms

    alive/dead are complementary: denying one entails the other, with no middle ground. hot/cold are gradable: there is a scale (warm, cool) between them. Converse antonyms like buy/sell describe the same relation from two sides, which neither pair does, so the other options misclassify them.

13. The sentence 'John stopped smoking' is related to 'John used to smoke'. This relation is classed as a presupposition, and not merely as an entailment, because:

    1. it holds only when 'John stopped smoking' is spoken in a polite register to an unfamiliar listener
    2. it is cancelled the moment 'John stopped smoking' is actually asserted
    3. it survives negation: 'John did not stop smoking' still conveys that he used to smoke
    4. it follows only from the maxim of quantity in a fully cooperative conversation
    Show answer

    Answer: C — it survives negation: 'John did not stop smoking' still conveys that he used to smoke

    The hallmark of presupposition is that it survives negation: both 'John stopped smoking' and 'John did not stop smoking' presuppose that he used to smoke. An entailment would disappear under negation. Politeness and the quantity maxim are irrelevant, and a presupposition is not cancelled merely by asserting the sentence.

14. Which statements about meaning relations are correct? Select all that apply.

    1. 'John killed the wasp' entails 'The wasp died'
    2. Paraphrase is mutual entailment: two sentences with the same truth conditions
    3. Two sentences contradict each other (are mutually inconsistent) when they cannot both be true at once
    4. An entailment, unlike a conversational implicature, can be cancelled without contradiction
    Show answer

    Answer: A — 'John killed the wasp' entails 'The wasp died'; B — Paraphrase is mutual entailment: two sentences with the same truth conditions; C — Two sentences contradict each other (are mutually inconsistent) when they cannot both be true at once

    Entailment (kill entails die), paraphrase as mutual entailment, and contradiction as impossibility of joint truth are all correct. The false statement reverses the facts: it is a conversational implicature that is cancellable, whereas an entailment cannot be cancelled without contradiction.

15. Asked 'Is your new colleague good at research?', a speaker replies 'Well, she is always on time for meetings.' The most likely conversational implicature, and the maxim being flouted, are which of the following?

    1. That the colleague is an outstanding researcher; the maxim of Quality is flouted
    2. That being punctual by itself fully guarantees high-quality research ability; the maxim of Manner is the one being flouted
    3. That the speaker holds no opinion at all; no conversational maxim is involved here
    4. That the colleague is not especially good at research; the maxim of Relation (and Quantity) is flouted
    Show answer

    Answer: D — That the colleague is not especially good at research; the maxim of Relation (and Quantity) is flouted

    By answering with something irrelevant to research and less informative than asked, the speaker flouts Relation (and Quantity), implicating that the colleague is not good at research. The reply does not assert she is outstanding, punctuality does not guarantee research quality, and an implicature is precisely an opinion conveyed indirectly rather than none at all.

16. Which statements about pragmatics are correct? Select all that apply.

    1. Austin distinguished locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary acts
    2. A conversational implicature is cancellable without contradiction, unlike an entailment
    3. Deictic expressions such as 'here' and 'now' have a fixed reference independent of context
    4. Grice's maxims fall under an overarching Cooperative Principle
    Show answer

    Answer: A — Austin distinguished locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary acts; B — A conversational implicature is cancellable without contradiction, unlike an entailment; D — Grice's maxims fall under an overarching Cooperative Principle

    Austin's three-way act distinction, the cancellability of implicature (versus the non-cancellability of entailment) and the Cooperative Principle governing the maxims are all correct. The false statement misdescribes deixis: deictic expressions shift their reference with the context of utterance, which is exactly what makes them deictic.

17. A speaker says 'Some of the students passed the exam' and then adds 'in fact, all of them did', and the addition is not contradictory. What does this show about the usual 'not all' reading of 'some'?

    1. It is part of the entailed literal meaning of 'some', so cancelling it in this way ought to produce a flat contradiction between the two sentences
    2. It is a scalar conversational implicature of the maxim of Quantity, so it can be cancelled without any contradiction
    3. It is a lexical ambiguity of 'some', which has two unrelated senses, 'not all' and 'all', chosen by the context of the utterance
    4. It is a presupposition triggered by 'some', and so it should survive when the whole sentence is negated or turned into a question
    Show answer

    Answer: B — It is a scalar conversational implicature of the maxim of Quantity, so it can be cancelled without any contradiction

    The literal content of 'some' is 'at least one'; the 'not all' meaning is a scalar implicature from the maxim of Quantity, and an implicature, unlike an entailment, can be cancelled without contradiction, which is exactly what the addition does. If 'not all' were entailed, cancelling it would be contradictory. A lexical ambiguity or a presupposition would not behave like this, since cancellation here leaves the sentence perfectly coherent.

18. In English a question word is moved to the front (What did you read?), whereas in Hindi it typically stays where the corresponding argument would be (tumne kyā paṛhā?). In a principles-and-parameters view, this contrast is best described as which of the following?

    1. A difference in the theta-roles of the verb read, which must be Agent and Theme in English but not in Hindi
    2. A violation of Binding Principle C in Hindi, because its question word is not moved above the subject
    3. Variation in a parameter governing whether wh-phrases move overtly, within principles shared by both languages
    4. Evidence that Hindi lacks Universal Grammar, since its question words follow no syntactic principle at all
    Show answer

    Answer: C — Variation in a parameter governing whether wh-phrases move overtly, within principles shared by both languages

    Universal principles are shared, and languages differ in parameter settings; whether a wh-phrase moves overtly is a standard example of such a parameter. The verb assigns the same roles in both languages, Principle C concerns names and pronouns, not question words, and Hindi question words are fully rule-governed, so the claim that Hindi lacks Universal Grammar is wrong.