EXERCISES OF CHAPTER 10

PRAGMATICS
QUESTION 1

What kinds of deictic expressions are used here

(e.g. We = person deixis)?

(a) We (person deixis), went there (spatial deixis),
last summer (temporal deixis)

(b) I, you (person deixis), here, come back (spatial

deixis), now, later (temporal deixis)
QUESTION 2

How do we describe the pragmatic difference

between the pair here and now versus there and
then?

Speakers use here and now when talking about
things close to them and there and then for
things distant or not close to them.
QUESTION 3
What kind of inference is involved in interpreting each of
these utterances?

(a) if X is the name of a writer of a book, then X can be
used to identify a copy of a book by that writer (in an
educational setting)
(b) if X is the name of a meal, then X can be used to refer
to the person who orders the meal (in a restaurant setting)
(c) if X is the name of a medical condition, then X can be
used to refer to the person with that medical condition (in
a medical setting)
(d) if X is the time of an appointment, X can be used to
refer to the person with that appointment (in a business
office setting)
QUESTION 4

What are the anaphoric expressions in the

following sentence?
Dr. Foster gave Andy some medicine after he told
her about his headaches and she advised him to
take the bills three times a day until the pain
went away.

he, her, his, she, him, the pills, the pain
QUESTION 5

What is the technical term for the phrase an old

car in its relationship with it in the following
utterance?
I have an old car, but it runs great.


The antecedent
QUESTION 6

What is the technical term used to describe the

relationship between She and Ginny Swisher in
the following example?
She was born prematurely. She lost her parents
at an early age. She grew up in poverty. She
never completed high school. Yet Ginny Swisher
overcame all these disadvantages to become
one of the most successful women in America.


cataphora
QUESTION 7
What process is involved in the connection
between cooking and the special meal in the
following sentence?
The old men and women lit the fire and started
cooking early in the morning so that the special
meal would be ready for their guests.

An inference is needed to understand that
the special meal is a definite expression
because it is the result of the cooking
mentioned earlier.
QUESTION 8
What is one obvious presupposition of a speaker
who says:
(a) Your clock isn’t working.  You have a clock.
(b) Where did he find the money?  He found
the money.
(c) We regret buying that car.  We bought
the/that car.
(d) The king of France is bald.  France has a
king.
QUESTION 9

How many pragmatic markers are used in the

following interaction?
Mana: Why does everyone think he’s a genius, I
mean, he gets things wrong like the rest of us,
doesn’t he?
Maka: Well, I don’t know, he got that award last
year for innovation, you know, the Brill award, at
the convention in New York, I think it was.

four (I mean, Well, I don’t know, you know)
QUESTION 10

In these examples, is the speaker appealing to

positive or negative face?
(a) If you’re free, there’s going to be a party at
Yuri’s place on Saturday.
 Negative (“If you’re free”)

(b) Let’s go to the party at Yuri’s place on

Saturday. Everyone’s invited.
 Positive (“Let’s go”)
QUESTION 11

Someone stands between you and the TV set

you’re watching, so you decide to say one of the
following. Identify which would be direct or
indirect speech acts?

(a) Move!  direct
(b) You’re in the way.  indirect
(c) Could you please sit down?  indirect
(d) Please get out of the way.  direct
 QUESTION 12
In terms of speech acts, how would you explain the unusual
nature of this interaction between a visitor to a city, with luggage,
looking lost, and a man in the street outside the railway station.
Visitor: Excuse me. Do you know where the Ambassador Hotel is?
Resident: Oh sure, I know where it is. (and walks away)


The visitor uses a question (“Do you know …”) as

an indirect speech act requesting directions, but
the resident treats the question as a direct speech
act and simply answers the question (not
recognizing the request function).