PRAGMATIC EXERCISES

2A. A deictic word is one which takes some element of its meaning from the
situation (i.e. the speaker, the addressee, the time and the place) of the utterance in
which it is used.
1. If Wyatt Earpp meets Doc Holliday in Dodge City and says, “This town
ain’t big enough for both of us”, this town refer to Dodge City.
2. If a television news reporter, speaking in Fresno, California, say, “This town
was shaken by a major earth tremor at 5 a.m today”, this town refer to
Fresno
3. November 2rd 1983
4. May 3th 1983
2B. Look at the following utterances and decide whether the speaker gives any
indication of his location (Yes) and if so, where he is (or isn’t).
1. “Go to the hospital” Yes / No
2. “The astronauts are going back to Earth”. Yes / No
3. “Please don’t bring food into the bathroom” Yes / No
4. “Can you take this plate into the kitchen for me?” Yes / No
2C. Circle the letter of any of the following sentences that contain deictic
expressions. (Hint: Which ones require you to know the circumstances –
participants, time, place, and so on – of the utterance in order to be understood?)
1. I saw you standing there.
2. Dogs are animals.
3. Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away.
4. Sir Robert Menzies was the longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia.
5. She was born in a taxi.
6. It was then that she pulled him towards her.
7. Both authors of this book were born in May.
8. The Magna Carta was signed in 1215.
9. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939.
10. Once you’re inside, the treasure will be found on your right.
11. The name of this rock band is "The Beatles."
12. The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.
13. The Declaration of Independence was signed last year.
14. Copper conducts electricity.
15. The treasure chest is on the right.
16. These are the times that try men's souls.
17. There is a tide in the affairs of men which taken at the flood leads on to
fortune.
3A. Answer the following questions:
1. Give an example of an expression that might be used to refer to the United
States: America, the melting pot
2. Give an example of an expression that could have variable reference: my
book
3. Give an example of an expression that always (in normal everyday
conversation) has constant reference: the sun/ the moon
4. Give an example of different expressions having one referent: Đà Lạt/
Thành phố ngàn hoa/ Thành phố sương mù

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 5. Give an example of an expression that has no reference: inside, because
3B. Could the following possibly be used as referring expressions? Circle the
answer of your choice.
1. John Yes / No
2. My uncle Yes / No
3. and Yes / No
4. the girl sitting on a wall by the bus stop Yes / No
5. a man Yes / No
6. my parents Yes / No
7. send Yes / No
8. under Yes / No
9. forty buses in “ This engine has the power of forty buses.” Yes / No
10. a Norwegian in “ Nancy wants to marry a Norwegian.”Yes / No
11. a man with a limb in “A man with a limb killed Bo Peep” Yes / No
12. it in “ Every man who owns a donkey beats it” Yes / No
3C. Which of the underlined expressions have specific reference and which do not?
1 Somebody telephoned and left a message for you. Yes
2 I hope somebody will tidy up this file cabinet. No
3 The last person to leave the office should lock the door. No
4 A stitch in time saves nine. No
5 Evans sometimes forgets to keep his eye on the ball. Yes

4A. Directions: Match the inferences in the box with the sentences below. Write the
letters on the lines.
Inferences
A. making cookies
B. driving a car
C. washing a dog
D. doing homework
E. finding a lost pet
F. working on the computer

______D_ 1. Jamal picked up his pencil, opened the book, and wrote something on
the paper.
_____A__ 2. Anna handed her mom the flour and went to check to see if the oven
light had turned off yet.
____F___ 3. After Peter moved the mouse around, he clicked the button carefully.
Then he looked at the screen.
___B____ 4. Jan stared straight ahead and held the wheel tightly in both hands.
___C____ 5. Tony poured the warm water from the cup and then squirted on some
shampoo.
_E______ 6. Felicia shone the flashlight far into the bushes and called, “Duffy,
come here. Duffy!”
4B. Directions: Make an inference to explain what the author didn’t tell you in
these sentences. Write your inference on the line. Then underline the words that
helped you make the inference.
1. When Pedro finished, he put the book in his backpack and turned on the TV.
What had Pedro done? He had done his homework.

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 2. As the seat began to swing back and forth, Tom gripped the safety bar tightly
and told himself not to look down.
Where is Tom? On a roller coaster.
3. Peggy slammed the door shut behind her and stomped down the stairs.
How does Peggy feel? angry
4. When we got up in the morning, branches and leaves were all over the yard
and the garbage can was in the street.
What had happened during the night?
There was a storm.
5. Just as LaTonya shivered and picked up her towel to dry off, the bee landed
on her back.
What will happen next?
The bee will sting her.

4C. See if you can infer an implied or hidden message in each of the following
selections.

Turner almost wished that he hadn’t listened to the radio. He went to the
closet and grabbed his umbrella. He would feel silly carrying it to the bus stop on
such a sunny morning.

1. Which probably happened?

a. Turner realized that he had an unnatural fear of falling radio parts.

b. Turner had promised himself to do something silly that morning.
c. Turner had heard a weather forecast that predicted rain.
d. Turner planned to trade his umbrella for a bus ride.

“Larry, as your boss, I must say it’s been very interesting working with
you,” Miss Valdez said. “However, it seems that our company’s needs and your
performance style are not well matched. Therefore, it makes me very sad to have to
ask you to resign your position effective today.”

2. What was Miss Valdez telling Larry?

a. She would feel really bad if he decided to quit.

b. He was being fired.
c. He was getting a raise in pay.
d. She really enjoyed having him in the office.

No, Honey, I don’t want you to spend a lot of money on my birthday

present. Just having you for a husband is the only gift I need. In fact, I’ll just drive
my old rusty bucket of bolts down to the mall and buy myself a little present. And
if the poor old car doesn't break down, I’ll be back soon.

3. What is the message?

a. I don’t want a gift.

b. Buy me a new car.
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 c. The mall is fun.
d. I’ll carry a bucket for you.

Bill and Jessica were almost done taking turns choosing the players for
their teams. It was Jessica’s turn to choose, and only Kurt was left.
Jessica said, “Kurt.”

4. We can infer that ________

a. Kurt is not a very good player.

b. Jessica was pleased to have Kurt on her team.
c. Kurt was the best player on either team.
d. Jessica was inconsiderate of Kurt’s feelings.

5A. What do the underlined words refer to?

1 Pete promised me a souvenir from Paris but I never got it.
A souvenir from Paris
2 Pete promised me a souvenir from Paris but I never got one.
A souvenir from Paris

3 Frances asked Shirley to lend her some money.

Frances
4 Frances promised Shirley to lend her some money.
Shirley
5 The police arrested several demonstrators because they were destroying
property.
Several demonstrators
6 The police arrested several demonstrators because they felt the demonstration
was getting violent.
The police

5B. What are the anaphoric expressions in the following sentences?

1. [Context: a neighbor's father has been in hospital for a week already]

Anne to her neighbor, seeing her looking haggard: How is he?
2. The high street bank on the corner has been broken into twice this month. But
they only took the small change.
3. [Context: Mary and Barbara are discussing Sarah, who Mary knows well but
who Barbara has only met once]
Mary: She's always so good-humoured, you know ... but he's a bore ...
4. [Context: a young goat wanders through the open front door]
A to B, observing the event in fascination: What do you think it's looking
for?
5. [Context: Woman returning from country walk where she had intended to
pick blackberries. Local retired man sitting on log observing her walk back with
empty box]
Man: So you didn't find any [PHI], then?
6. a. Sean Penn attacked a photographer. The man was quite badly hurt.

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 b. Sean Penn attacked a photographer. The man must be deranged.
7. On a bench in a park he saw an elderly couple. The man ...The woman ...
8. John bought a book, but after reading the first few pages he threw it away.
9. A: I'm going to cook cous-cous tonight.
B: Really? I've never liked that.
10. [Child puts hand near flames coming from coal fire]
Parent: Johnny, don't do that!
11. A: Did you see in the paper that the prime minister has called a General
Election for next month?
B: What? I didn't know that/That's incredible!
12. Mother-in-law to daughter-in-law: We're coming to visit you next Sunday.
Daughter-in-law (jokingly): Is that a threat or a promise?!

13. He [Kenny Rogers] grew up with four brothers and three sisters, the son of a
labourer and a cleaning lady, in a poor area of Houston, Texas. My father was
an alcoholic, but it wasn't disruptive because he was a wonderful man with a
great sense of humour. The worst he did for our family was use money for
alcohol rather than food or clothes. But he earned it, and had the right to get
something out of life. He didn't drink for the last four years. His parents were
not keen on him being a musician, and the early years were tough ... (Radio
Times 1999: 18).
6. The following sentences make certain presuppositions. What are they?
1. The police ordered the minors to stop drinking.
The minors stopped drinking.
2. Please take me out to the ball game again.
I was taken to the ball game before.
3. Valerie regretted not receiving a new T-bird for Labor Day.
V did not receive a new T-bird for Labor Day.
5. That her pet turtle ran away made Emily very sad.
E had a pet turtle.
6. The administration forgot that the professors support the students. (Cf. "The
administration believes that the professors support the students," in which
there is no such presupposition.)
The professor support the students.
7. It is strange that the United States invaded Cambodia in 1970.
the United States invaded Cambodia in 1970.
8. Isn't it strange that the United States invaded Cambodia in 1970?
The United States invaded Cambodia in 1970.
9. Disa wants more popcorn.
Disa has had some popcorn.
10. Why don't pigs have wings?
Pigs don’t have wings.
11. Who discovered America in 1492?
A was discovered in 1492.
12. Nobody realized that Kelly was ill.
K was ill.
13. I imagined that Kelly was ill.
K wasn’t ill.

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 14. She pretended that he had understood what she meant.
H had not understood what she meant.
15. We are going to have a final examination in Semantics next Monday.
We are studying Semantics.
16. We are going to be teachers of English.
We are studying E.
17. What do you do in your free time?
You have free time.
18. My children like all the pictures in this book very much.
This book has pictures.
7A. Test whether the following sentences are performative sentences by inserting
hereby and seeing whether they sound ‘right’. Circle the letter of any that are
performative sentences.
1. I apologise to you. P
2. I testify that she met the agent. P
3. I suppose De Castella will win. P
4. He bet her $ 2500 that Hawke will win.
5. I dismiss the class. P
6. I teach the class.
7. We promise to leave early. P
8. I owe the Taxation Department $1 000 000.
9. I bequeath $1 000 000 to the Taxation Department. P
10. I swore I didn’t do it.
11. I swear I didn’t do it. P
7B. Give a situation in which each of the following utterances occurs, interpret its
meaning and the classify it according to various kinds of speech acts.
1. ‘I beg your pardon?’ Di
2. ‘Won’t you sit down?’ Di
3. ‘I name my little dog Bim.’ De
4. ‘I’m awfully sorry I wasn’t at the meeting this morning.’ Ex
5. ‘I was so sorry to hear about your loss.’ Ex
6. ‘We elect Professor Wilson chairman.’ De
7. ‘You can play outside for half an hour.’ Di
8. ‘I’ll sell it if I were you.’ Di
9. ‘I don’t know how to answer this question.’ Re
10. ‘You’ll find the book on Swahili infinitives quite fascinating.’ Di
11. ‘Don’t drive too fast on busy streets.’ Di
12. ‘I’m dead tired now.’ Ex
13. ‘Let’s have some coffee when the class is over.’ Di
14. “There is a big hole in front of the classroom.’ Di/ Re
15. ‘Who will believe that story?’ Ex
16. ‘Good evening.’Ex
17. ‘Is it right to cheat in any exam?’ Re / Di
18. ‘Good night.’ Ex
19. ‘Mind your head.’ Di
20. ‘Would you like a cup of coffee?’ Di
21. ‘How come there is no lunch?’ Ex
22. ‘How dare you speak to her like that?’ Ex

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 23. ‘You look lovely today in your new dress.’Ex
24. ‘Why don’t you tell me about this?’ Di
25. ‘The first semester is almost over.’ Re
26. ‘It’s a wonderful evening, isn’t it?’ Ex
27. ‘It’s going to rain.’ Re
28. ‘If you don’t try your best, you’ll fail in the exam.’ Com
29. ‘After you.’ Ex
30. ‘I beg you to reconsider your decision.’ Di
7C. Using the notions of speech acts and presupposition, give a brief description of
the wording of this notice seen in a bus: “thank you for not smoking MAXIMUM
FINE $100.”(In the same frame there was a picture of a cigarette with a slash
through it, inside a mandatory prohibition red circle)
8. In these examples, is the speaker appealing to positive or negative face?
1. Jim, you’re really good at solving computer problems. I wonder if you could
just help me with a little formatting problem I got.
2. Good old Tom. Just the man I wanted to see. I knew I’d find you here.
Could you spare me a couple of minutes?
3. Could you tell me the time, please?
4. I wonder whether I could just sort of ask you a little question.
5. You will never guess what Fred told me last night. This is right up your
street. (Begin a narrative).
6. Here’s my old mate Don. How are you doing today, mate? Could you give
us a hand to get this car to start?
7. Well, in a way, I suppose you’re sort of right. But look at it like this. Why
don’t you …
8. People like me and you, Bill. Don’t like being pushed around like that, do
we? Why don’t you go and complain?
9. I’ll take you out to dinner on Saturday if you’ll cook the dinner this evening.
10. I’m feeling really hungry. Let’s stop for a bite.
11. If you had a little time to spare for me this afternoon, I’d like to talk about
my paper.
12. Could I talk to you for just a minute?
13 (To a police constable) Excuse me, officer. I think I might have parked in
the wrong place.
14. Sorry to bother you, but …
15. Parking on the double yellow lines is illegal, so I’m going to have to give
you a fine.
16. (Participation in an illegal demonstrative is punishable by law.) Could I
have your name and address, madam?
17. I think you’ve had a bit too much to drink, Jim. Why not stay at our place
this evening?
* Positive face:, 1,2,5,6,7,8,9,10, 17
* Negative face:3,4,11,12,13,14,15,16

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