Semantics Quiz

What does semantics study?

• The history of words

• The structure of sentences

• The meaning of words and sentences

• The pronunciation of words

Which sentence shows synonymy?

• The sun is hot.

• You are too young to drive. / You are not old enough to drive.

• Cats are dogs.

• My toothbrush is pregnant.

Sentence 5 (The unmarried woman is married to a bachelor) shows:

• Ambiguity

• Vagueness

• Contradiction

• Polysemy

Sentence 6 (My toothbrush is pregnant) is an example of:

• Contradiction

• Semantic anomaly

• Synonymy

• Entailment

The word “bat” having two meanings (an animal / sports equipment) shows:

• Vagueness

• Ambiguity

• Contradiction

• Paraphrase

The word “home” suggesting comfort and family shows:

• Denotative meaning

• Figurative meaning

• Connotative meaning

• Collocative meaning

The word “cat” meaning a domesticated animal shows:

• Denotative meaning

• Connotative meaning

• Figurative meaning

• Symbolic meaning

Which phrase is an example of figurative language?

• He bought a house.

• My car is a lemon.

• The ball is round.

• The door is open.

Students use knowledge in examples or classify types. “She is as brave as a lion.” This is a:

• Metaphor

• Simile

• Hyperbole

• Idiom

“The leaves danced in the wind.” is an example of:

• Metonymy

• Simile

• Personification

• Hyperbole