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spaceman
Joined: 12 Jun 2009
Location: South South Korea
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 Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 8:25 pm Post subject: another grammar question |
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Which couplet do you consider incorrect, or, if there is such a thing, the most incorrect? Why?
1. A: Would you do me a favor?
B: Sure, it depends.
2. A: Let me introduce myself.
B: OK. I'm happy to meet you.
3. A: How are you doing?
B: Great, thanks.
4. A: I'd like you to meet my friend, Esther.
B: I've been looking forward to meeting you.
5. A: Tell me about Korean movies, won't you?
B: Sure.
Merci. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 12:40 am Post subject: |
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| The first sounds strange because he says 'sure' and then 'it depends', meaning he's not sure. The second sounds strange because he hasn't finished introducing himself (ie he hasn't said his name yet) and the other person is already saying 'happy to meet you'. The rest sound ok. Are they from a test? Pretty bizarre one if they are. |
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blackjack
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: anyang
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| Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 12:57 am Post subject: |
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| 1, 2 and 5 sound bad |
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ChilgokBlackHole
Joined: 21 Nov 2009
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| Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 1:08 am Post subject: Re: another grammar question |
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| spaceman wrote: |
Which couplet do you consider incorrect, or, if there is such a thing, the most incorrect? Why?
2. A: Let me introduce myself.
B: OK. I'm happy to meet you.
4. A: I'd like you to meet my friend, Esther.
B: I've been looking forward to meeting you.
Merci. |
2. A hasn't introduced himself yet.
4. B hasn't indicated that he's directed himself toward speaking to a different person. |
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Thiuda
Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Location: Religion ist f�r Sklaven geschaffen, f�r Wesen ohne Geist.
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| Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 1:22 am Post subject: Re: another grammar question |
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| spaceman wrote: |
1. A: Would you do me a favor?
B: Sure, it depends. |
The response seems incorrect to me, since in the response the adverb Sure indicates certainty, while the verb depends signifies a contingency. Syntactically the question and the response are well-formed, my issue with the response stems from its semantic ambiguity.
| spaceman wrote: |
2. A: Let me introduce myself.
B: OK. I'm happy to meet you. |
Syntactically the above sentences are well-formed. However, from a pragmatic standpoint the respondent is flouting the Gricean Cooperative Principle. Given that we don't know the context of the conversation, we can't tell whether the respondent was doing so for pragmatic effect, i.e. irony, or for another reason.
| spaceman wrote: |
3. A: How are you doing?
B: Great, thanks. |
The above question-response pair is well-formed and commonly encountered.
| spaceman wrote: |
4. A: I'd like you to meet my friend, Esther.
B: I've been looking forward to meeting you. |
As with number two, the sentences are syntactically well-formed, though, again, we would require knowledge of the context of the conversation to judge whether the response is appropriate.
| spaceman wrote: |
5. A: Tell me about Korean movies, won't you?
B: Sure. |
Syntactically well-formed and an appropriate response to the entreaty.
| spaceman wrote: |
| Which couplet do you consider incorrect, or, if there is such a thing, the most incorrect? Why? |
You could use a simple Likert scale to compare how different people judge the above sentences.
Pair No. x is correct.
1. Strongly disagree
2. Disagree
3. Neither agree nor disagree
4. Agree
5. Strongly agree |
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blackjack
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: anyang
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| Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 1:58 am Post subject: Re: another grammar question |
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| Thiuda wrote: |
| spaceman wrote: |
5. A: Tell me about Korean movies, won't you?
B: Sure. |
Syntactically well-formed and an appropriate response to the entreaty.
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That tag question just doesn't sound right to me |
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JFuller317
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 2:06 am Post subject: |
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Here is how I would rewrite each pair:
1. A: Would you do me a favor?
B: It depends on what it is.
2. A: Hi, I'm ______. (only a vampire would say something like "let me introduce myself)
B: OK. I'm happy to meet you.
3. A: How are you doing?
B: Great, thanks.
4. A: I'd like you to meet my friend, Esther.
B: Hi Esther. I've been looking forward to meeting you.
5. A: Could you tell me a bit about Korean movies?
B: Sure. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 3:34 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| That tag question just doesn't sound right to me |
Yes I think you're right. The standard tag for imperatives is 'will you'. |
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jugbandjames
Joined: 15 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 3:46 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
spaceman wrote:
2. A: Let me introduce myself.
B: OK. I'm happy to meet you.
Syntactically the above sentences are well-formed. However, from a pragmatic standpoint the respondent is flouting the Gricean Cooperative Principle. Given that we don't know the context of the conversation, we can't tell whether the respondent was doing so for pragmatic effect, i.e. irony, or for another reason.
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Which maxim does it violate? |
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Thiuda
Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Location: Religion ist f�r Sklaven geschaffen, f�r Wesen ohne Geist.
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| Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 1:35 am Post subject: |
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| edwardcatflap wrote: |
| Quote: |
| That tag question just doesn't sound right to me |
Yes I think you're right. The standard tag for imperatives is 'will you'. |
Tag questions come in a wide variety of flavours, some contain negation, others do not: "the rule of thumb often applies that a positive sentence has a negative tag and vice versa." Won't is the contraction of will not, and since the imperative is a request, rather than a direction, the question tag maybe using the negative form as a way of indicating politeness.
| jugbandjames wrote: |
| Which maxim does it violate? |
In my opinion, The Maxim of Relation, because the response doesn't appropriately relate to the initial utterance. |
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jugbandjames
Joined: 15 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 5:55 am Post subject: |
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| Hmm...I'm not sure I see it, but you might be right. I think 5 definitely violates quantity though. If someone asks you about movies, and your response is to just say "Sure." and then stare at them, then that's incorrect. |
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blackjack
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: anyang
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| Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 6:01 am Post subject: |
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| Thiuda wrote: |
| edwardcatflap wrote: |
| Quote: |
| That tag question just doesn't sound right to me |
Yes I think you're right. The standard tag for imperatives is 'will you'. |
Tag questions come in a wide variety of flavours, some contain negation, others do not: "the rule of thumb often applies that a positive sentence has a negative tag and vice versa." Won't is the contraction of will not, and since the imperative is a request, rather than a direction, the question tag maybe using the negative form as a way of indicating politeness.
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Still it just doesn't sound right to me
apart from 3 I would say they are all bad examples and shouldn't be used in a test |
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