Name ID Number

Trần Thanh Luật (Leader) 3120380166

Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân 3120380186
Trần Minh Mẫn 3120380172
Hồ Gia Huy 3120130047
Vũ Thị Thanh Hương 3120130054
POINT 9

UNIT 5: PREDICATES
SEMANTICS EXERCISES

TASK 1: You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:
- The PREDICATOR of a simple declarative sentence is the word (sometimes
a (partial) group of words) which does not belong to any of the referring
expressions. and which, of the remainder, makes the most specific contribution to
the meaning of the sentence. Intuitively speaking, the predicator describes the state
or process in which the referring expressions are involved.
- A PREDICATE is any word (or sequence of words) which (in a given single
sense) can function as the predicator of a sentence.
- The DEGREE of a predicate is a number indicating the number of
arguments it is normally understood to have in simple sentences.
- The semantic analysis of simple declarative sentences reveals two major
semantic roles played by different subparts of the sentence. These are the role of
predicator, illustrated above, and the role(s) of ARGUMENT(s), played by the
referring expression(s).

TASK 2: Indicate the arguments and predicator(s) in each sentence.

a. John is a linguist
b. John loves Mary
c. Mary loves John (Are arguments ordered?)
d. John gave Mary a ring
e. Chicago is between Los Angeles and New York
f. Jane is Mary’s mother
g. Jones is the Dean of the College
h. John stood near the bank
(How should the ambiguity be handed?)
i. Ed is a fool
j. Ed is foolish
Sentence Arguments Predicator(s)
a John linguist
b John, Mary love
c Mary, John love
(Arguments are ordered)
d John, Mary, ring give
e Chicago, Los Angeles, New York between
f Jane, Mary’s mother Mary’s mother is
g Jones, the Dean, the College the Dean of the college is
h John, the bank Stand
Ambiguity: “bank” is a word that has many meanings.
“Bank” can be understood as the land alongside or sloping down to
a river or lake. It is also known as an organization where people
where people and businesses can invest or borrow money…
i Ed fool
j Ed foolish

TASK 3: Indicate the degree of the predicates used as predicators in each

sentence in item 2 above.
a. linguist is a one-place predicate.
b. loves is a two-place predicate
c. loves is a two-place predicate
d. gave is a three-place predicate
e. between is a three-place predicate
f. Mary’s mother is a one-place predicate
g. The Dean of the College is a one-place predicate
h. stood near is a two-place predicate one-place
i. fool is a one-place predicate
j. foolish is a one-place predicate

TASK 5: In this unit we said that the prepositions from and of in the two-part
adjectives different from and afraid of ‘are not themselves predicates . . . (and
that they) are relatively meaningless linking particles’. Do you agree with this
statement? Consider a sentence such as The letter is from my uncle before
reaching a conclusion.
I totally agree with this statement. The word “from” in the sentence aboves is
considered as a Predicate because it contains a specific meaning to support for
Arguments “The letter” and “My uncle”.
However, the word “from” in the word “Different from” or “of” in “Afraid of” are
just relatively meaningless linking particles. Some adjectives in English require
prepositions to combine so that they can meet the grammatical structure. You can
also notice that the word “Different” still maintain its own meanings when they
change the prepositions follow them such as “Different than”, “Different to”,...

TASK 6: What are the functions of the verb be in these sentences (i.e. does it
function as an identity predicate or as a grammatical device for linking a non-
verbal predicate to its first argument)? Do all instances of be carry tense?
a. Mary is happy: a grammatical device for linking a non-verbal predicate to its
first argument.
b. A tulip is a flower: a grammatical device for linking a non-verbal predicate to its
first argument.
c. George W. Bush is the US President: identity predicate.
d. God is: “is” in the sentence doesn’t function as a Identity Predicate or a
Grammatical device. It needs two different Referring Expressions to function as a
Identity Predicate or it must combine with a Predicate (Adjective, Noun,…) to be a
Grammatical device. ELLIPTIC

Do all instances of “be” carry tense?

Yes it does, the verb be is also a device for ‘carrying’ the tense (present or
past) of a sentence.