English Grammar Ch 1 - ch 5

What is the communicative effect of a declarative used as a directive?

• Extremely politeness.

• Neutral, indifferent.

• It invokes authority.

Answer explanation

It is “c” because directives encode orders. “a” and “b” are wrong because they do not correspond to the communicative effect of a directive.

When are imperatives most acceptable at a social level in English?

• To indicate rudeness.

• To indicate indirect politeness.

• To benefit the addressee.

Answer explanation

It is “c” because politeness is an important factor in imperatives. If the action is likely to benefit the addressee, the imperative is more acceptable. “a” and “b” are wrong because they do not reflect the real social implications of imperatives in terms of politeness.

What is crucial with ellipted yes/no questions?

• Polite formulae like “please”

• Accompanying gestures and non-verbal language

• An appropriate rising tone

Answer explanation

It is “c” because in ellipted yes/no questions the rising intonation marks an offer whereas a falling intonation encodes a statement. “a” and “b” are wrong because the polit formulae “please” and non-verbal language do not characterize ellipted yes/no questions.

What is the effect of an assertive form in a negative interrogative?

• An originally positive assumption.

• A positive bias.

• A contradiction.

Answer explanation

It is “b” because when assertive forms are added to negative interrogatives they denote a positive bias since the speaker expects a positive answer despite the original negative assumption of the negative interrogative. “a” is wrong because it expresses the opposite idea. “c” is wrong because, although it may seem a coherent answer, it has nothing to do with the effect of assertive words in negative interrogatives.

What happens to performatives when modalised?

• They are not performatives any more.

• They become less explicit but still count as performatives.

• It is indifferent.

Answer explanation

It is “b” because they become less explicit when modalised (with can or must). “a” is wrong because they are still performatives even if modalised. “c” is wrong because it does not apply.

Which of the following statements is true?

• There is transferred negation with some performatives.

• In English a past subjunctive can be identified in the form of 'to have been'.

• Vocatives fulfil a key representational and textual function.

Answer explanation

It is “a” because some performative verbs such as “advise” there is transferred negation since the negative particle “not” is transferred from its logical place in the dependent clause to the main clause. “b” is wrong because a past subjunctive can only be identified in the form of “were” in the 1st and 3rd persons singular of “be” in subordínate clauses of condition and concession. “c” is wrong because vocatives do not fulfil a key representational and textual function but important interpersonal ones, such as getting someone’s attention or marking distance and respect, among others.

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

• There is no one-to-one correspondence between clause type and speech-act function.

• Explicit performatives in the declarative carry out acts by naming them.

• Exclamations are clause types with special intonation and their own syntactic structure.

Answer explanation

It is “c” because any clause type can be used to make an exclamation with the appropriate intonation. “a” is wrong because there is one-to-one correspondence between clause type and speech act. “b” is wrong because the declarative carries out the speech act it names with certain verbs – such as “promise”, “advise” and “warn”.

What does 'let's' typically convey?

• A joint action.

• An explicit order.

• A catenative sequence of events.

Answer explanation

It is “a” because the typical use of “let’s” is to suggest or urge a collaborative action that includes both the speaker and the addressee(s).

Which clause types typically have subject+finite ordering?

• Declaratives, negatives, and interrogatives.

• Declaratives and exclamatives.

• Imperatives.

Answer explanation

It is “b” because declaratives and exclamatives have a subject-finite ordering and interrogative and negative clauses require a finite operator in English. The imperative consits of the base form of the verb alone with no overt subject.

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

• Question tags can be attached to declaratives, exclamatives and imperatives.

• '-ever' attached to a wh-interrogative word (as in 'whoever' 'wherever') results in an intensifier expressing such things as surprise or disbelief.

• Echo questions are not used for responding to other questions.

Answer explanation

It is “c” because echo questions repeat all or part of a previous speaker’s utterance.