Linguistics 110 * Sentences and Dialects
Second Chance Semantics (ARO)

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  1. Syntax

    Diagram all 3 of the following sentences, marking any movement with arrows:

    1. Mary walks her pet beetle and waters the flowers on Fridays.

    2. Frieda thinks that Red Green is a colorful character.

    3. Why does the mayonnaise stick to my teeth?


  2. Semantics
    1. Imagine a script (schema) covering any situation other than a restaurant, and list ten concepts (words) that are a part of the schema. Next, dream up two sentences related to that schema, one which would be processed without any difficulty and one which would cause the listener to stop and rethink in that situation.





    2. Check all of the following sentences whose main verb presupposes (NOT states) the truth of the subordinate clause.
      1. John claims that Mary married Murray.
      2. John is convinced that Mary married Murray.
      3. John is happy that Mary married Murray.
      4. John presumes that Mary married Murray.
      5. John hopes that Mary married Murray.
      6. John said that Mary married Murray.
      7. John regrets that Mary married Murray.
      8. John ignores Mary's marriage to Murray.
      9. John sees why Mary married Murray.

    3. The phrase below has at least two meanings. Explain them by filling in the semantic features of athlete and showing how they combine with the meaning of good.

      How do these features combine to produce multiplie semantic interpretations?

    4. Food is a fuzzy concept. Explain how we use and understand the concept in terms of a stereotype, using a diagram such as the one suggested in the text area.

5. Explain the ambiguity in the following headlines.
  1. Man is fatally slain.
  2. Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers.
  3. Cold wave linked to temperatures.
  4. Blind woman gets new kidney from dad she hasn't seen in years.
  5. Quarter of a million Chinese live on water.