Chapter 10
Sentence Semantics
Exercise 10.3Predication Analysis
Using the features DO, CAUSE, COME, COINCIDE, NEG, and any necessary state verbs, analyze the following predicates.
Ralph silenced the children.
The sunlight warmed the room.
Because of the upcoming examination, the student didn’t stay calm.
Despite the approaching storm, the water remained calm.
A bottle floated to shore.
Jane floated to the side of the pool.
Lars waxed his skis.
The tree shades the garden.
The film depressed Nat.
The fire burned all the company's records.
We store our boat in the shed.
Sharon wrung the water out of the clothes.
The snake shed its skin.
I didn’t learn his name.
I didn’t forget his name.
I didn’t remember his name.
We entered the auditorium
She entered university.
The news alarmed us.
The bouncer shoved the patron outside.
The children pinned the tail on the donkey.
He bicycled to town.
Marny didn’t put the car in the garage.
We are converting the garage into a den.
The recent rains flooded our basement.
The delay prevented him from getting home for Christmas.
Explain the different uses of the verb drop using predication analysis and thematic roles of subject and object, if relevant.
When shot, he dropped to the ground.
He dropped to the ground when he heard gunfire.
I dropped the noodles into the boiling water.
I dropped my favorite vase.
The apples dropped from the tree.
The sick plant dropped all its leaves.
The swing dropped to the ground.
She dropped the fish into the tank.
The slippery soap dropped from my hands into the bathtub.
Explain the differences between sentences such as those found in the sets below:
She bakes bread.
She baked the bread.
He drives a race car.
He drove a race car.
For the verbs expressing sitting, lying, falling, and rising, state the ingressive form, the causative form, and the stative form in each case.
Ralph DO CAUSE the children COME BE silent
The sunlight CAUSE the room COME BE warm
the student COME NEG BE calm
the water NEG COME NEG BE calm
A bottle COME COINCIDE shore
Jane (DO CAUSE) herself COME COINCIDE the side of the pool
Lars DO CAUSE wax COME COINCIDE his skis
OR Lars DO CAUSE his skis COME BE waxed
The tree CAUSE the shade COME COINCIDE the garden
The film CAUSE Nat COME BE depressed
The fire CAUSE the company's records COME BE burned
We DO CAUSE NEG COME NEG our boat COINCIDE the shed
Sharon DO CAUSE the water COME NEG COINCIDE the clothes
The snake COME NEG COINCIDE its skin
I NEG (DO CAUSE myself) COME know his name
I (DO CAUSE myself) NEG COME NEG know his name
I COME NEG know his name
(While not learning and not forgetting may be either intentional actions or not, not remembering is only nonintentional.)
We DO CAUSE ourselves COME COINCIDE the auditorium
She DO CAUSE herself COME BE a university student
The news CAUSE us COME BE alarmed
The bouncer DO CAUSE the patron COME NEG COINCIDE inside
The children DO CAUSE the tail COME COINCIDE the donkey (by pinning)
He DO CAUSE himself COME COINCIDE town (by bicycling)
Marny NEG DO CAUSE the car COME COINCIDE the garage
We DO CAUSE the garage COME BE a den
The recent rains CAUSE water COME COINCIDE our basement
OR the recent rains CAUSE our basement COME BE flooded
The delay CAUSE him NEG COME COINCIDE home
he (Th) COME COINCIDE the ground (Go)
He (Ag) DO CAUSE himself (Th) COME COINCIDE ground (Go)
I (Ag) DO CAUSE the noodles (Th) COME COINCIDE the boiling water (Go)
I (Fo) CAUSE my favorite vase (Th) COME COINCIDE the ground (Go) (Goal is understood here)
The apples (Th) COME NEG COINCIDE tree (So)
The sick plant (Fo, Pa) CAUSE the leaves (Th) COME NEG COINCIDE itself (So)
The swing (Th) COME COINCIDE ground (Go)
She (Ag) DO CAUSE the fish (Th) COME COINCIDE the tank (Go)
The slippery soap (Th) COME NEG COINCIDE my hands (So) and COME COINCIDE the bathtub (Go)
The verb drop may occur with an Agent subject, one which acts on itself (b) or on another entity, either inanimate (c) or animate (h); in this case Theme and Goal roles also appear. The subject may be a Force, when the dropping is unintentional (d, f), with either an implicit Goal (d) or a Source (f). Drop may also occur with a Theme subject, either animate (a) or inanimate (e, g); the accompanying role may be Goal (a, g) or Source (e), the latter requiring a NEG feature in its predication analysis. Where both Source and Goal are expressed (i), it appears necessary to postulate a compound analysis.
The first sentence in each set expresses a habitual or generic situation. Here the Agent operates on itself, causing itself to have a certain status. Thus, the predication analysis would be the following:
She (Ag) DO CAUSE herself BE a baker (Ro).s
He (Ag) DO CAUSE himself BE a race car driver (Ro).
In the second sentence, the Agent operates on something else, causing a change in it:
She (Ag) DO CAUSE the bread (Fa) COME BE baked
He (Ag) DO CAUSE a race car (Th) COME BE driven
| Stative | Ingressive | Causative |
|
seated |
sit |
set |
|
fallen |
fall |
fell |
|
lying |
lie |
lay |
|
risen |
rise |
raise |