Exercises for Semantics

Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of English speaking countries/ ULIS/ VNU

1. For the following words, list as many synonyms as you can think of and discuss the
connotations that these synonyms have.
(a) frugal

(b) thin (of a person)

2. Fill in the columns below with the appropriate synonym. In each case, the word in
column A is of English origin and the word in column B is of French or Latin origin.
Can you make a general statement about the connotations of the words in columns A
and B?
A B

feed ____________

____________ conceal

____________ people

l y
begin ____________
on
____________ aid/assist
s e
mistake ____________ u
a l
n
____________ labor

e r
t
____________ vision

middle
i n
____________

____________ altitude

3. Describe the semantic relationship expressed by each of the following sentences.

(a) I'm allergic to nuts. There are walnuts in the cookies.

(b) Flight 2048 arrives and departs at 8:00 a.m.

(c) George is a pig.

(d) That is a large bat.

(e) I appreciate your help. You helped me.

(f) That is a well-known club.

(g) My brother married a doctor. My male sibling joined in wedlock with a physician.

(h) In walked the corpse.

1
 (i) The corpse is alive.

(j) Professor Mulhausen went to his office. Professor Mulhausen went to the university.
Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of English speaking countries/ ULIS/ VNU

(k) He cleaned the keys of the piano.

(l) They have a love-hate relationship.

(m)The escaping convict accidentally assassinated the guard.

(n) Jane ate a piece of chicken. Jane ate a piece of poultry.

(o) My husband is living. I am a widow.

(p) She stepped on an idea.

(q) Edith amused the salad.

(r) My brother is an only child.

y
(s) He unintentionally committed perjury.

(t) She wore a colorless pink dress.

n l
o
e
(u) He dusted the plants.

(v) Othello killed Desdemona. Desdemona died.

u s
a l
(w)He descended from the ground floor to the attic.

r n
4.
e
Determine whether the following are cases of homonymy or polysemy.

t
(a) fine
n
'superior in quality'

i
'a sum of money paid as a penalty'

(b) bank 'an incline of land adjoining a river'

'a financial institution'

(c) monitor 'a pupil who assists a teacher'

'a device that receives video signals from a computer'

(d) tattoo 'a permanent design on the skin'

'a military exercise'

(e) school 'an institution for instruction'

'a large group of fish'

(f) horn 'a structure projecting from the head of an animal'

2
 'a musical instrument'

(g) ear 'the organ for hearing'

Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of English speaking countries/ ULIS/ VNU

'the seed-bearing spike of a cereal plant'

(h spell 'to name or write the order of the letters in a word'

'a magical formula'

'a period of time'

(i) pilot 'one who operates an aircraft or ship'

'a television program produced as a prototype of a series'

5. Say what is presupposed by each of the following sentences.

(a) Is Frank playing that loud music?

(b) What I want for my birthday is a new computer.

l y
n
(c) Alistair didn't go to work today.

(d) Grace stopped playing the piano several years ago. o

s e
u
(e) When did Tara go back to school?

a l
(f) Sally renewed her subscription to People magazine.

r n
t e
6.
n
Which of the following are factive and which nonfactive?

i
(a) John criticized Mark for not working hard enough.

(b) John acknowledged that Mark was not working hard enough.

(c) I was hoping that the game was cancelled.

(d) It turns out that the game was cancelled.

(e) The student forgot that the assignment was due today.

(f) The student assumed that the assignment was due today.

(g) It's nice that you could get away.

(h) It's nice to get away.

(i) I realized that he had stolen the money.

(j) I suspected that he had stolen the money.

3
 7. Identify the superordinate term in each set.
(a) house, shed, building, garage, cottage, hut
Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of English speaking countries/ ULIS/ VNU

(b) plate, saucer, cup, soup bowl, dish, serving bowl

(c) stream, river, rivulet, creek, brook, tributary

(d) glance, peep, stare, leer, look (at), view, watch

(e) hurricane, tornado, gale, storm, typhoon

8. Identify the relationship of oppositeness expressed in the following sentences.

(a) The window pane is open, but it should be shut.

(b) This class is better than last year's class.

(c) This painting is similar to that one.

(d) He pushed the lever forwards instead of backwards.

l y
n
(e) This plant was sick, but now it's healthy.

(f) My poor relatives envy my rich relatives. o

s e
u
(g) He ordered a sweet and sour dish.

(h) It is better to give than to receive.

a l
r n
e
9. Below is one member of a set of scalar adjectives. Identify the other member of the

t
set; if an alternative member exists (in a different context), list that as well.
(a) hard
i n
(b) strong

(c) short

(d) happy

(e) light

(f) cheap

10. Give the end-of-scale equivalents for these normal scalar adjectives.
(a) tired (d) sad

(b) wet (e) hot

(c) poor

4
 11. Name the structural relation expressed by each of the following pairs of words.
(a) casual/informal (n) intelligent/smart
Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of English speaking countries/ ULIS/ VNU

(b) parent/offspring (o) employ/use

(c) university/college (p) mathematics/history

(d) right/wrong (q) glass/tumbler

(e) right/left (r) doctor/patient

(f) odd/even (s) own/belong to

(g) odd/unusual (t) ancestor/descendant

(h) bring/take (u) predator/prey

(i) rude/polite (v) benefactor/donor

(j) wind/breeze (w) enter/leave

l y
n
(k) moist/damp (x) rise/fall

(l) present/absent (y) dress/undress o

s e
u
(m) fair/foul (ball)

a l
12. Identify the type of figurative expression in each of the following:
(a) a smooth wine
r n
t e
n
(b) an autobiography of her life

(c) passive aggressive i

(d) wildlife management

(e) Orders are orders.

(f) an endowed chair

(g) a hard-hitting report

(h) the paper

(i) a loud color

(j) a new initiative

(k) The pen is mightier than the sword.

(l) a new set of wheels

(m)"Death, thou shalt die". (John Donne)

5
 (n) a bitter reproach

(o) the hands of a clock

Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of English speaking countries/ ULIS/ VNU

(p) blood, sweat, and tears

(q) an on-off relationship

(r) The traffic is crawling.

(s) search one's soul

(t) Enough is enough.

(u) room and board

(v) live on borrowed time

(w) table linen

y
(x) an aide

(y) The law is the law.

n l
o
e
(z) be under the weather

(aa) sell for money

u s
(bb) circumnavigate around
a l
r n
(cc) working vacation

t e
(dd) close proximity
i n
(ee) extinct life

13. State the image schema upon which each of the following metaphors is based. (Do
not simply paraphrase the metaphors.)
(a) That's food for thought.

(b) He is a giant among film directors.

(c) Let me put in my two cent's worth.

(d) She is a member of the upper class.

(e) His health is declining.

(f) His mood is down/depressed.

(g) One can't predict what Wall Street will do.