UNIT 7: SENTENCE MEANING

Exercise 1: Circle the following sentences A for Analytic, S for Synthetic or C for
Contradiction, as appropriate.
1. John’s nine-year-old brother is a boy A/ S/ C
2. John’s brother is nine years old. A/ S/ C
3. Cats are not vegetables. A/ S/ C
4. No cats like to bathe. A/ S/ C
5. Cats never live more than 20 years. A/ S/ C
6. My watch is slow. A/ S/ C
7. My watch is a device for telling the time. A/ S/ C
8. That girl is her own mother’s mother. A/ S/ C
9. That boy is his own father’s son. A/ S/ C
10. Alice is Ken’s sister. A/ S/ C
11. Some typewriters are dusty. A/ S/ C
12. If it breaks, it breaks. A/ S/ C
13. John killed Bill, who remained alive for many years after. A/ S/ C
14. Bachelors cannot form lasting relationships. A/ S/ C
15. Bachelors are lonely. A/ S/ C

Exercise 2: The following pairs are paraphrases of each other. Identify the way
employed to paraphase them.
1. (a) The house was CONCEALED by the tree.
(b) The house was HIDDEN by the tree.
 Change individual words
2. (a) The needle is too short.
(b) The needle is not long enough.

3. (a) Some countries have no coastline.
(b) Not all countries have a coastline.

4. (a) Watching television is not a waste of time.
(b) Watching television is a good way to spend one’s time.

5. (a) My friend LOATHES string beans.
(b) My pal HATES pole beans.

6. (a) I’ll LOOK FOR that book right now.
(b) I’ll SEEK FOR that book at once/immediately.

7. (a) Steve HUGGED Jane.
(b) Steve GAVE Jane a hug.
 
8. (a) John is the parent of James.
(b) James is the child of John.

9. (a) My father OWNS this car.
(b) This car BELONGS TO my father.

10. (a) John SOLD the book to David.
(b) David BOUGHT the book from John.

11. (a) Steve HUGGED Jane.
(b) Jane WAS HUGGED by Steve.

12. (a) We HAD hardly BEGUN our work when it rained.
(b) Hardly HAD we BEGUN our work when it rained.

13. (a) Sitting in one place for so long is very uncomfortable.
(b) It is very uncomfortable to sit in one place for so long.

14. (a) I saw Ted at the party.
(b) It was Ted that I saw at the party.

15. (a) The nearest service station is 50 miles away.
(b) It is 50 miles to the nearest service station.

16. (a) Jenny and Kevin are twins.
(b) Kevin and Jenny are twins.

17. (a) They had a wonderful holiday even though the weather was bad.
(b) Despite/ In spite of the bad weather, they had a wonderful holiday.

(c) They had a wonderful holiday, despite the bad weather.
(d) They had a wonderful holiday in spite of the bad weather

18. (a) Bachelors PREFER red-haired girls.
(b) Girls with red hair ARE PREFERRED by unmarried men.

19. (a) Sam SLICED the salami with a knife.
(b) Sam USED a knife to slice the salami.

20. (a) Considering your condition, we won’t press charges.
(b) Under the circumstances, we won’t press charges.

21. (a) The laser HAS a wide variety of applications.
(b) As we have seen, the use of the laser IS numerous.

22. (a) In order to make a good impression at a job interview, you should prepare well
for the interview.
 (b) As you can see, it is necessary to be well prepared for the job interview.

23. (a) Synonyms, words that have the same basic meaning, do not always have the
same emotional meaning.
(b) Many so-called synonyms are not really synonyms at all.

24. (a) The composition proficiency requirements as now stated should not apply.
(b) I would propose that the standard used to judge international student papers be
relaxed or done away with.

25. (a) Although Grants Pass, Oregon, is a fairly small town, it offers much to amuse
summer visitors.
(b) If you want to give your family a nice, wholesome vacation, try visiting Grants
Pass, Oregon.


Exercise 3: Use  to show one-way entailment and  to show two-way entailment

in each of the following pairs of sentences:
1(a) John is a bachelor.
(b) John is a man.
2(a) I’m wearing black boots.
(b)1’m wearing black footwear.
3(a) Mary owns three houses.
(b) Mary owns a house.
4(a) Alvin is Mary’s husband.
(b) Mary is married.
5(a) The wolf killed the bear.
(b) The bear is dead.
6(a) My father owns this car.
(b) This car belongs to my father.
7(a) I gave Erin the summons.
(b) I gave the summons to Erin.
8(a) John is the parent of James.
(b) James is the child of John.
9(a) Jenny and Kevin are twins.
(b) Kevin and Jenny are twins.
10(a) The bear killed the wolf.
(b) The wolf was killed by the bear
11(a) Eliza plays the flute.
(b) Someone/Eliza plays a musical instrument.
12(a) Alan planted roses.
(b) Someone/Alan planted flowers.
13(a) All dogs have fleas.
(b) My dog has fleas./Some dogs have fleas.
14(a) My uncle teaches at the community college.
(b) My uncle is a teacher.
15(a) My pet cobra likes the taste of chocolate.
(b) My pet cobra finds chocolate tasty.
16(a) The Jones sold their house to the Cruses.
(b) The Cruses bought the house from the Jones.
17(a) Some countries have no coastline.
(b) Not all countries have a coastline.
18(a) I saw Ted at the party.
(b) It was Ted that I saw at the party.
19(a) It is 50 miles to the nearest service station.
(b) The nearest service station is 50 miles away.
20(a) Bachelors prefer red-haired girls.
(b) Girls with red hair are preferred by unmarried
men.

Exercise 4: What sense relation holds between the two sentences in each of the
following pairs:

1(a) Tom is married to Mary.
1(b) Mary is married to Tom.
2(a) John is the father of Neil.
2(b) Neil is the father of John.
3(a) Dick is a bachelor.
3(b) Dick is a man.
6(a) Jim is fatter than Ed and Ed is fatter than Bob.
6(b) Jim is fatter than Bob.
7(a) Some of the students came to my party.
7(b) Not all of the students came to my party.
8(a) The fly was over the wall.
8(b) The wall was under the fly.
4(a) Gina plays tennis. 9(a) Jane is a spinster.
4(b) Someone/Gina plays sports. 9(b) Jane is married.
5(a) Kevin boiled an egg. 10(a) The beetle is alive.
5(b) Kevin cooked an egg. 10(b) The beetle is dead.

Exercise 5: What types of ambiguity do these sentences convey? How can you
interpret their meaning?
For example:
Pat likes English poems and novels.
Meaning 1: Pat likes poems in English and novels
Meaning 2: Pat likes English poems and English novels.
 Structural Ambiguity
1. The police stopped the man with the gun.
2. Pat kissed his wife, and so did Sam.
3. Nobody said he was wrong.
4. She is a Japanese student.
5. Alex loves her dog and Chris does, too.
6. He is looking for his glasses.
7. I am a big fan of Elvis Presley. Also Robbie Williams.
8. I think that Chris said that Alex called but I don’t know when.
9. John is a bachelor.
10. Since I lost my glasses yesterday, I haven’t been able to do any work.

Exercise 6: Explain the anomaly of each of the following sentences.

1. The boy swallowed the chocolate and then chewed it.
2. Babies can lift one ton.
3. Puppies are human.
4. My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor.
5. The bigger key and John opened the door.
6. James sliced the ideas.
7. Jack’s courage chewed the bones.
8. I hear the cloud.
9. The tiger remains alive for an hour after the hunter killed it.
10. The picture laughed at me.