Ana Elisabeth Bila

Semantics and Discourse Analysis

Unisave-Maxixe
Quissico 2020
1. Referring expressions:
a) My table- Yes. Because the speaker have in mind the particular thing (table) that
is referring.
b) A unicorn- Yes if the speaker has in mind the particular creature is referring to.
No if the speaker refers to any creature with a unicorn.
c) No love- No. Is not a referring expression.
d) Travel- is not a referring expression because it's a verb.
e) Or- is not a referring expression because it doesn't refer to someone or
something.
f) Mary- Yes it can be a referring expression ifthe speaker has in mind the person is
referring to. No it can't be if the speaker refers to any person called Mary.
g) A book- No, it can't be a referring expression because the speaker doesn't have in
mind the particular book that is referring to.
h) Samora Machel- Yes is a referring expression because the speaker has in mind
the particular person is referring to.

2. Noun phrases:
a) His father married a dancer. “a dancer” is a referring expression because the
speaker has in mind the that is being referred.
b) John wants to marry a dancer. In this sentence, ‘a dancer’ can be a referring
expression if the speaker has in mind that john is dating a dancer. But it cannot
be if the speaker doesn’t have in mind the person is referring to, if john refers
to a desire that he has.
c) The whale is the biggest mammal. “The whale” is a referring expression
because the speaker is assuming what is saying, he has in mind the kind of
animal is talking about.
d) The man who shot Kennedy was Lee Harvey Oswald. ‘the ma’ in this sentence
is a referring expression because the speaker has in mind the person which is
talking about, which is Lee Harvey Oswald.
3. “I am looking for a pencil”. The sentence is ambiguous. In one instant It assumes that
the speaker has in mind the particular kind of pencil he’s looking for (maybe that he
lost). In the other instant, it assumes that the speaker doesn’t have in mind a particular
pencil he’s looking for (he just needs any pencil to use).
4. Opaque context:
 A. Dan believes that Armando Emilio Guebuza signed the bill.
B. Dan believes that the President of the republic of Mozambique signed
the bill.
 If Dan believes that the president of the republic of Mozambique is
Armando Emilio Guebuza, then A and B mean the same thing, but
if he doesn’t believe then A and B will mean different things.
5. Equative sentences:
a) Fred is the man with the gun. This sentence is an equative because both
referring expressions have the same referent, they can be reversed and still
continue being acceptable.
b) William the Conqueror is the current king of England. It is an equative
sentence. Both referring expressions have the same referent and can be
reversed remaining with its acceptability.
c) Detroit is a nearby city. It is an equative sentence but cannot be reversed
because the sentence a nearby city is Detroit is not acceptable.
d) Mary is a genius. It is not an equative sentence.
e) A box of cookies is what I would like. Is an equative sentence because the
order of the two referring expressions can be reversed without loss of
acceptability.
f) Detroit is not the largest city in the USA. It is an equative sentence because
both referring expressions have the same referent and can be reversed without
losing their acceptability and have the same referent.
6. It’s a tree.
 Sentence- it is grammatical
 Utterance- It's an utterance when used in a situation which someone sees
something growing in a corner of a house and asks, what is that? And the
other person just answers "it's a tree", and then remain quiet.
 Reference- it can be a reference when someone says "it's a tree" having in
mind what exactly mean.
 Referent- is tree.
7. A tall tree
i) Sometimes a referring expression and sometimes not, depending on context and
circumstances of use.
8. Whether a sentence contains any referring expressions or not depends on the time and
place at which the sentence occurs. Yes / No
 No.
9. Which of the following sentences is equative? Circle your answer.
 Equative sentence is c)."Mahmoud is the Egyptian I was telling you about".
10. Does if have sense in the same way that dog has sense? Yes / No
 No.
11. Do the expressions big and large have essentially the same sense in the following
sentences?
a) I live in a big house.
b) I live in a large house. Yes / No
 Yes.
12. Circle those of the following words which can be referring expressions (in normal
everyday English). John, below, Venus, swims, round, beautiful, under, went.
 John and Venus.