Exercises - Semantics

2.1 Denotation and Connotation

Exercise 1:
Identify the denotation and possible connotations of the following words:
 Home:
Denotation: A place where one lives.
Connotation: Warmth, comfort, family, safety.
 Snake:
Denotation: A legless reptile.
Connotation: Danger, betrayal, evil, cunning.
 Rose:
Denotation: A type of flower.
Connotation: Romance, beauty, love, passion.
Exercise 2:
Write a short paragraph using the word "spring", and explain its denotative and
connotative meanings in your context.
 “ After a long, cold winter, spring finally arrived with blooming flowers and
singing birds. It brought a sense of renewal to everyone."
Denotation: The season after winter and before summer.
Connotation: Renewal, hope, rebirth, freshness
2.2.1 Synonym
Exercise 1:
For each pair of words below, identify a sentence where they can be used
interchangeably and another where only one is appropriate.

0. Speak / Talk

 (a) They speak/talk about various topics during the meeting.

 (b) She speaks three languages. / She talks three languages.

Answer: She talks three languages. (Incorrect)

- Speak is used when referring to the ability to use a language. So, when you say
She speaks three languages, it means she knows and can communicate in three
different languages.

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 - Talk is usually used to describe having a conversation or discussing something,
often informally. It does not normally describe the ability to use a language as a
skill.
1. Begin / Start
(a) Let's begin/start the lesson.
(b) He pressed the start button. / He pressed the begin button.
Answer: He pressed the begin button. (Incorrect)
Begin is not appropriate here.
2. Ask / Inquire
(a) She asked/inquired about the schedule.
(b) He inquired at the information desk. / He asked at the information desk.
Answer: Ask is less formal; both can work, but "inquire" is more formal.
3. End / Finish
(a) They will end/finish the project by Friday.
(b) The movie has a surprise ending. / The movie has a surprise finishing.
Answer: The movie has a surprise finishing . (Incorrect)
=> Not "finishing".
4. Look / See
(a) Look/see at that beautiful painting.
(b) I see what you mean. / I look what you mean.
Answer: I look what you mean. ( Incorrect)
=> not “look”
5. Listen / Hear
(a) I like to listen/hear to music while working.
(b) Did you hear that noise? / Did you listen that noise?
Answer: both can work
Exercise 2:
Analyze the different meanings of the polysemous words bright and sharp, and
identify which meanings are synonymous with other words.
Bright

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 (i) "The room is bright and airy." → well-lit
(ii) "She is a bright student." → intelligent (synonym: clever, smart)
(iii) "He wore a bright red shirt." → vivid color
(iv) "The future looks bright." → optimistic
In sentence (ii), bright is synonymous with intelligent.
Sharp
(i) "Be careful with that sharp knife." → cutting edge
(ii) "She has a sharp mind." → synonym: keen, intelligent
(iii) "There was a sharp increase in prices." → sudden, drastic
(iv) "He made a sharp turn." → sudden, quick change in direction
In sentence (ii), sharp is synonymous with keen or quick-witted.
2.2.2 Antonym
Identify each pair as Binary (B), Gradable (G), or Relational (R):
N0. Antonym pair Answer and Explanation
0. light - dark G. Light and dark can be measured on a scale
of brightness, with intermediate levels such as
dim and dusk.
1. begin - end G. Process with intermediates
2. parent - child R. One implies the other
3. clean - dirty G. Degrees of cleanliness
4. enter - exit B. One or the other, no middle state
5. rich - poor G. Scale of wealth
6. on - off B. Binary state
7. large - small G. Scale of size
8. husband - wife R. Relational (spouse roles)
9. male - female B. biological sex
10. pass - fail B. Mutually exclusive outcomes

2.2.3 Hyponymy
Exercise 1:
In each sentence, identify the superordinate and the hyponym:
1. She loves reading books, especially comics.

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Superordinate: Books
Hyponym: Comics
2. A salmon is a fish.
Superordinate: Fish
Hyponym: Salmon
3. The garden has many plants, including orchids.
Superordinate: Plants
Hyponym: Orchids
4. He eats different types of meat except chicken.
Superordinate: Meat
Hyponym: Chicken
Exercise 2:
Draw a diagram to represent the hierarchical relationship between each of the
following pairs. Use arrows or lines to show which item is a broader category and
which is a specific example (hyponym).
Example (0): electronic device → smartphone
1. fruit → orange
2. animal → kitten
3. vehicle → motorbike
4. tree → bamboo
5. clothing → shirt
6. musical instrument → piano
7. flower → sunflower
8. furniture → table
9. bird → parrot
10. drink → tea
2.3 Polysemy & Ambiguity
Exercise 1:
For each sentence, explain the lexical ambiguity by writing two paraphrased
sentences showing the different meanings.
0. The mouse ran across the floor.
Meaning one: A small rodent ran across.
Meaning two: A computer mouse moved across.
1. He drew the curtains.

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- He pulled them open/closed.
- He sketched a picture of them.
2. She gave me a cool reception.
- She welcomed me in an unfriendly way.
- The room was physically cool.
3. I can’t bear children.
- I am unable to have children.
- I can’t tolerate children.
4. We like the ball.
- We enjoy playing with the object.
- We enjoy the dance/party event.
5. The captain corrected the list.
- The captain fixed errors in the list.
- The captain punished the person named "list" (less common, humorous)
Exercise 2:
Identify the structural ambiguity by giving two possible interpretations.
1. The old man and woman sat on the bench.
- Both the man and woman are old.
- Only the man is old; woman’s age unknown.
2. I saw her duck.
- I saw her lower her body suddenly.
- I saw the duck that belongs to her.
3. They are cooking apples.
- They are apples for cooking.
- They (people) are cooking apples.
4. John loves Richard more than Martha.
- John loves Richard more than he loves Martha.
- John loves Richard more than Martha does.
5. The farmer fed the ducks with a telescope.
- The farmer used a telescope to feed.
- The ducks had a telescope (implausible but structurally possible).
3.2 Paraphrase
Identify the paraphrasing method used in the following pairs:
1. The house was hidden by the tree. (b) The house was concealed by the tree.
hidden / concealed => Synonym
2. The needle is too short. (b) The needle is not long enough.
too short / not long enough => Negation
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 3. Some countries have no coastline. (b) Not all countries have a coastline.
no coastline / not all have coastline => Quantifier change
4. Watching television is not a waste of time. (b) Watching television is a good
way to spend one’s time.
not a waste / a good way => Antonym + positive phrasing
5. My friend hates green beans. (b) My friend dislikes string beans.
hates / dislikes => Synonym
6. I’ll look for that book now. (b) I’ll seek that book immediately.
look for / seek => Formal synonym
7. Steve hugged Jane. (b) Steve gave Jane a hug.
hugged / gave a hug => Verb-noun conversion
8. John is the parent of James. (b) James is the child of John.
parent / child => Role reversal
9. My father owns this car. (b) This car belongs to my father.
owns / belongs to => Possessive transformation
10. John sold the book to David. (b) David bought the book from John.
sold to / bought from => Active-passive inversion
3.3 Entailment
Use ⇒ to show one-way entailment and ⇔ to show two-way entailment for the
sentence pairs below:

A ⇒B
N0. Sentence pairs Answer
1. (a) Sarah is a doctor.

A ⇒B
(b) Sarah is a medical professional.
2. (a) I wore running shoes.

A ⇒B
(b) I wore shoes.
3. (a) Peter owns three cars.

A ⇔B
(b) Peter owns a car.
4. (a) Emily is Jessica’s sister.

A ⇒B
(b) Jessica is Emily’s sibling.
5. (a) The wolf attacked the deer.

A ⇔B
(b) The deer was attacked.
6. (a) Dad owns this bicycle.

A ⇔B
(b) This bicycle belongs to dad.
7. (a) Anna gave the gift to Tim.

A ⇒B
(b) The gift was given to Tim by Anna.
8. (a) Some students failed the exam.

A ⇔B
(b) Not all students failed the exam.
9. (a) Mike is James’s father.

A ⇔B
(b) James is Mike’s son.
10. (a) The dog chased the cat.
(b) The cat was chased by the dog.
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