EXERCISES ON

SEMANTICS 5
HUFLIT
Write meaning postulates to account for the hyponymy
between the
following pairs of two-place predicates.
(1) son, child ......................... .... ....
(2) kick, strike ..................................
(3) hear, perceive...............................
(4) brother, relation .............................
Write meaning postulates to account for the hyponymy
between the following pairs of two-place predicates.
(1) son, child ......................... .... ....
(2) kick, strike ..................................
(3) hear, perceive...............................
(4) brother, relation .............................
(1) x SON y →x CHILD y
(2) x KICK y → x STRIKE y
(3) x HEAR y → x PERCEIVE y
(4) x BROTHER y → x RELATION y
Write meaning postulates, using the negative connective ~ to
account for the antonymy between the following pairs:
(1) same, different ................................
(2) inside, outside .................................
(3) ignore, pay attention to ..................
(4) friend, enemy .................................
Write meaning postulates, using the negative connective ~ to
account for the antonymy between the following pairs:
(1) same, different ................................
(2) inside, outside .................................
(3) ignore, pay attention to ..................
(4) friend, enemy .................................
(1) x SAME y → ~x DIFFERENT y
(2) x INSIDE y → ~x OUTSIDE y
(3) x IGNORE y → ~x PAY ATTENTION TO y
(4) x FRIEND y → ~x ENEMY y
Write meaning postulates, using 6, to account for the
synonymy of the
following pairs:
(1) own, belong to ..............................
(2) above, below ................................
(3) before, after ..................................
(4) parent, child ....................................
Write meaning postulates, using 6, to account for the
synonymy of the
following pairs:
(1) own, belong to ..............................
(2) above, below ................................
(3) before, after ..................................
(4) parent, child ....................................
(1) x OWN yy BELONG TO x
(2) x ABOVE y y BELOW x
(3) x BEFORE y y AFTER x
(4) x PARENT y y CHILD x
Strike is restricted to concrete objects. John struck the table
is fine, but John struck motherhood is not.
x STRIKE y → y CONCRETE
+ Formulate meaning postulates to account for the following
selectional restrictions:
(1) Heat requires a concrete object. ..................
(2) Nourish requires an animate object. ..................
(1) x HEAT y → y CONCRETE
(2) x NOURISH y → y ANIMATE
Note that in some cases two-place predicates are involved,
and that the notation → represents the entailment relation.
+ WALK: x WALK → x USE LEGS
+ WATER: x WATER → x LIQUID
+ LIQUID: x LIQUID → ~x SOLID
+ GLASS: x GLASS → x BRITTLE
+ BRITTLE: x BRITTLE → x BREAKABLE
+ WOMAN: x WOMAN → x HUMAN
+ HUMAN: x HUMAN → x MORTAL
The relationship between the two predicates boil (boil1 and
boil2)
(a) x BOIL2 y → x CAUSE (y BOIL2)
(b) x BOIL2 y → y CAUSE (x BOIL1)
(c) x BOIL2 y → x CAUSE (y BOIL1)
John opened the door with the key
John AGENT
the door AFFECTED
the key INSTRUMENT
AGENT AFFECTED INSTRUMENT

j OPEN d k
INSTRUMENT AFFECTED

k OPEN d
AFFECTED
d OPEN
Floyd smashed the glass with the hammer
AG AF IN
f SMASH g h

Crippen dissolved the body with the acid

AG AF IN
c DISSOLVE b a
AFFECTED LOCATION

Caesar was assassinated in Rome

AGENT BENEFICIARY AFFECTED

Keith gave Gill a replica of the Venus de Milo

AGENT BENEFICIARY AFFECTED

The terrorists sent the Prime Minister a letter bomb

Identify the Locations in the following sentences by circling
them:
(a) It is windy in Edinburgh
(b) I’m meeting Dick at Waverley Station
(c) Tallahassee is humid in summer

(a) in Edinburgh
(b) at Waverley Station
(c) Tallahassee
Identify the Beneficiaries in the following:
(a) Ruth knitted Bryan a sweater
(b) Alan was sent a special offer from the Reader’s Digest
(c) Glenn bought a micro-computer for his son
(a) Bryan
(b) Alan
(c) his son
EXPERIENCER THEME
The children heard the loud noise
Identify the Experiencers in the following:
(a) Jane saw a movie last night
(b) Janice became sick when she heard the news
(c) The thunder was heard by everyone
(a) Jane
(b) Janice
(c) everyone
Identify the Themes in the following:
(a) My computer is sitting on that desk
(b) Jack saw a play last week
(c) The Honda belongs to Jim
(a) My computer
(b) a play
(c) The Honda
(1) What two roles are mentioned in Julia planted a tree?
Agent and Affected
(2) What further role is mentioned in Julia planted a tree
in the garden?
Location
(3) What single role is mentioned in A tree was planted?
Affected
(4) Is the Agent role mentioned in some, but not all,
of these examples? Yes / No
Yes
(5) Is the Location role mentioned in some, but not all,
of these examples? Yes / No
Yes
(6) Is the Affected role mentioned in all of these examples?
Yes / No
Yes
7. Which of the following role-frames captures these facts
correctly?
(a) (AGENT) (AFFECTED) (LOCATION)
(b) AGENT AFFECTED (LOCATION)
(c) (AGENT) AFFECTED (LOCATION)
(d) (AGENT) AFFECTED LOCATION
Good luck!