HPRA - sample questions a odpovědi na testy z minulých let

Identify the coherence relation between the utterances.

Yesterday, I was very lucky. Among other things, I found a ten pound note.

The second sentence explains why it was such a lucky day - finding a 10 pound note is considered as a lucky accident and the speaker also says it was not only this, that more good things happened to him, what is connected to the utterance in the first sentence.

Otázky z minulých testu

Žlutě: poslední test (2019)

Zeleně: minulý rok (2018)

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What is the conversational implicature of “I have fed some of your cats.” Describe the inference leading to the implicature and demonstrate the cancellability / defeasibility of the implicature.

I have fed some of your cats.

NEGATION TEST: I haven’t fed some of your cats.

• It is implied that I have fed some but pragmatically expressed that I have not fed ALL cats.

I have fed some of your cats, but not all of them.

Which maxim is the speaker opting out of by introducing his utterance with the phrase “Many people say…”?
Flouting of Maxim of Quality (lack of adequate evidence)

Verification thesis says that:
Unless a sentence can be verified, it is strictly speaking meaningless.

Další možné otázky na testu: ze skupin HAEI 2014 a starších; rok 2017 a starší

Give an example of an utterance containing an illocutionary force indicating device.
I command you, as King Artur, to open the gate.

What is the conversational implicature of “In his country, people can retire at the age of 55?” Describe the inference leading to the implicature and demonstrate the cancellability / defeasibility of the implicature.
By the negation test:

They do not have to retire. ----- Je implikováno, že mohou jít do důchodu a pragmaticky je naznačeno, že nemusejí jít do důchodu.

Negation test:
presupposition is constant under negation –> negate the utterance and if the presupposition changes, the presupposition is not presupposition.

Types of Deictic expressions:

• adverbs of time and space✔

• first and second-person pronouns✔

• motion verbs✔

• demonstratives✔

  • The demonstratives in English are this, that, these, and those

• tense markers✔

  • We may say that «s» marks the third person singular for the present tense. For example eats, drinks, sleeps.

  • We may also say that «ed» marks the past tense in regular verbs. For example asked, called, shouted.

List at least 4 aspects involved in the recovery of EXPLICATURE, adding an example for each (or one example for more aspects). (odpověď nemusí být správně)

1. Deictic: need context – I love the city. That will end then.

2. Non-deictic: don’t need context – I love this city. I broke this finger.

3. Personal pronouns: generic uses - reference to all members of a class (all people) - We are all mortal.

4. Personal pronouns: anaphoric uses – repeating a pronoun at the beginnings of neighbouring clauses - I asked the students and they said they want minus points for wrong answers.

5. Gestural deixis: a gesture is needed to correctly interpret the utterance

6. Symbolic deixis: requires only the knowledge of basic spatiotemporal parameters of the event