ANSWER KEY Semantics: a coursebook

Unit 14 Study Guide and Exercises

Directions: After you have read Unit 14 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

logical conjunction (with &)

logical disjunction (with V)
rules of inference
commutativity of conjunction
commutativity of disjunction
compositionality of meaning
truth tables

2. Translate the following into logical notation using either & or V (or both as required):
a. Fred arrived and Mary left.

f ARRIVE & m LEAVE

b. Either Fred is a Republican or Mary is a Democrat.

f REPUBLICAN V m DEMOCRAT

c. Max and Erma are happy.

(m HAPPY) & (e HAPPY)

d. Bill visited Jim and Mary.

(b VISIT j) & (b VISIT m)

e. Max saw Mary or Fred.

(m SEE m) V (m SEE f)

f. Jim briefed Jane and he saw Mary or he met Fred.

(disambiguate by means of different bracketing)

(j BRIEF j) & (j SEE m V j MEET f)

(j BRIEF j & j SEE m) V (j MEET f)

g. Either Mary briefed Fred and she saw Jane or she saw David.
(is this ambiguous?) Not ambiguous

(m BRIEF f & m SEE j) V (m SEE d)

h. Mary briefed Fred and either she saw Jane or she saw David.
(is this ambiguous?) Not ambiguous

m BRIEF f & (m SEE j V m SEE d)

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© James R. Hurford, Brendan Heasley and Michael B. Smith 2007
ANSWER KEY Semantics: a coursebook

3. What can be connected with the logical connectives & and V? What can NOT be connected
with these connectives in our logical system?

Only complete propositions can be connected by these connectives. They

cannot be used to connect individual predicates or names (arguments)

4. Do all English sentences with and involve the logical conjunction of propositions (expressed
by &)? If not, give one or two examples different from those given in the text.

No. Example: Adam and Eve are a happy couple is acceptable. But we cannot
say *Adam is a happy couple and Eve is a happy couple.

5. What are rules of inference? What does such a rule state in general?

Rules of inference define how propositions go together to make up valid

arguments. They are sets of rules of calculation, or logical reasoning, involving
propositions that relate premisses that are assumed to be true with conclusions
that can be drawn from these premisses. They express various kinds of sense
relations holding between propositions.

6. Give an example in which a rule of inference involving & is valid but the corresponding rule
with V is invalid.

Valid: p & q Invalid: p V q

p p

7. Below are some examples in which a conclusion has been drawn from premisses involving
either logical conjunction or disjunction. Identify which conclusions follow logically from the
given premisses and which do not. Explain why in either case. Then translate the logically valid
inferences into logical notation, letting the variables p and q stand for each proposition (e.g. let p
= Bill signed a bill, etc.).

a. Premiss: George signed a bill and Hillary gave a speech.

Conclusion: Hillary gave a speech.

Logically valid conclusion: p & q

q
b. Premiss: Max baked a pie or Mary baked a cake.
Conclusion: Max baked a pie.

Not valid

c. Premiss: George signed a bill or Hillary gave a speech.

Conclusion: Hillary gave a speech or Bill signed a bill

Logically valid: p V q
qVp

d. Premiss: Al made a trip.

Conclusion: Al made a trip or Tipper attended a hearing.

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© James R. Hurford, Brendan Heasley and Michael B. Smith 2007
ANSWER KEY Semantics: a coursebook

Logically valid: p___

pVq

e. Premiss: Socks chased a mouse and Millie was envious.

Conclusion: Millie was envious and Socks chased a mouse.

Logically valid: p & q

q&p

8. Suppose it is true that Tipper laughed but Al yawned is false. Is the sentence Tipper laughed
and Al yawned TRUE or FALSE?

The sentence is FALSE.

9. Suppose that the sentences Tipper laughed and Al yawned are both true. Then is the sentence
Tipper laughed but Al yawned TRUE or FALSE?

The sentence is TRUE.

10. Based solely on their truth table values, do and and but have the same or different meanings?
What aspects of meaning do these two words seem to share, and how do they appear to differ?
Do their truth table "meanings" fully characterize their complete senses? Briefly explain.

And and but have the same truth tables, so in their logical sense, they have the
same meanings. But they differ in that but evokes a notion of contrast that is
not found with and. This difference is not reflected in the truth tables, so the
truth table "meanings" do not fully characterize their complete senses.

11. Calculate the truth values of the following complex propositions by referring to the world
with the individuals Roger, John, Eve, and Sandy shown on page [supply correct page number]
in this unit. Pay special attention to the bracketing.

a. (e STAND) & ((s PULL j) V (j BEHIND e)) FALSE

b. (s STAND) V ((s PULL j) & (j BEHIND e)) TRUE

c. ((e SIT) & (j BETWEEN r s)) & (s PULL j) TRUE

d. ((e STAND) V (s PULL j)) V (r BETWEEN s j) TRUE

12. Explain the idea of compositionality of meaning. Are the truth tables for & and V
developed in this unit examples of this notion? Explain briefly.

This means that the meaning of a composite expression is a function of the

meaning of its parts. The truth tables for & and V exemplify compositionality,
because they show explicitly how the truth value (an aspect of meaning) of a
composite expression is built up from the truth values of the constituent
propositions that comprise the composite expression.

www.cambridge.org/hurford
© James R. Hurford, Brendan Heasley and Michael B. Smith 2007