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Unit 18 Study Guide and Exercises

This document provides a study guide and exercises for a unit on semantics. It introduces key terms like symmetric, asymmetric, reflexive, and transitive properties of two-place predicates. It asks students to classify example predicates based on these properties and identify which predicates express an equivalence relation by having all three properties of symmetry, reflexivity, and transitivity. The document ensures students understand the relationships between the formal properties and can apply them to analyze predicate semantics.

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Tuan Nguyen
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86 views2 pages

Unit 18 Study Guide and Exercises

This document provides a study guide and exercises for a unit on semantics. It introduces key terms like symmetric, asymmetric, reflexive, and transitive properties of two-place predicates. It asks students to classify example predicates based on these properties and identify which predicates express an equivalence relation by having all three properties of symmetry, reflexivity, and transitivity. The document ensures students understand the relationships between the formal properties and can apply them to analyze predicate semantics.

Uploaded by

Tuan Nguyen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

ANSWER KEY Semantics: a coursebook

Unit 18 Study Guide and Exercises


Directions: After you have read Unit 18 you should be able to tackle the following questions to
test your understanding of the main ideas raised in the unit.

1. You should understand these terms and concepts from this unit:

sense properties of two-place predicates


symmetric vs. asymmetric predicates
reflexive vs. irreflexive predicates
transitive vs. intransitive predicates
equivalence relation

2. What does it mean to say that the sense properties introduced in this unit (listed above) make
no mention of other predicates?
These sense properties are internal to the predicates themselves.

3. What sense property of a sentence does the definition of reflexivity rest upon?

Reflexivity evokes the notion of analyticity: e.g. resemble is reflexive because


Mary resembles Mary (i.e. herself) is analytic.
4. Classify the following predicates for each of the following types of formal properties:
symmetric, asymmetric, reflexive, irreflexive, transitive, or intransitive. If none of the
properties holds, state that as well. Give an example of each predicate as the predicator in a
sentence to illustrate its adherence (or nonadherence) to the properties.

a. offspring of asymmetric, irreflexive, intransitive


b. a friend of symmetric, reflexive, intransitive
c. near symmetric, irreflexive, transitive
d. younger than asymmetric, irreflexive, transitive
e. looks like symmetric, reflexive, transitive
f. hate asymmetric, irreflexive, intransitive
g. jealous of asymmetric, irreflexive, intransitive
h. depends on asymmetric, reflexive, intransitive
i. be the same age as symmetric, reflexive, transitive
j. live with symmetric, reflexive, transitive
k. on asymmetric, irreflexive, intransitive

The values for 4k depend on how we typically understand the on relation.


Examples using each predicate in a sentence will vary.

5. Which of the predicates in question 4 above express the equivalence relation? For those which
do NOT express equivalence relations, explain why not (i.e. identify which requisite sense
property the predicate lacks).

The equivalence relation is expressed by looks like, be the same age as, and
live with, since they are all symmetric, reflexive, and transitive. Those
predicates not having all three of these properties do not express the
equivalence relation.

[Link]/hurford
© James R. Hurford, Brendan Heasley and Michael B. Smith 2007
ANSWER KEY Semantics: a coursebook

6. Be sure you understand the relationships between the six terms summarized in the chart at the
end of this unit.

[Link]/hurford
© James R. Hurford, Brendan Heasley and Michael B. Smith 2007

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