Free Practice Quiz Question List

07 Pragmatics Online Quiz Questions

Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 07 Pragmatics, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.

20 questions

Written response

1 point

What field of study concerns the conventional meanings of words and sentences, as distinct from how context shapes what a speaker means?

True or false

1 point

True or false: Hearers infer a speaker’s likely intention from wording and context rather than reading it directly from the speaker’s mind.

A
True
B
False

Choose one

1 point

A person says, “I’ll meet you here tomorrow.” Which context is most directly needed to identify what “here” and “tomorrow” refer to?

A
The dictionary definitions of “meet” and “tomorrow” alone
B
The grammatical structure of the sentence alone
C
The speaker, location, and time of the exchange
D
The hearer’s preferred meeting place

Choose one

1 point

At dinner, someone asks, “Can you pass the salt?” Which interpretation best captures the utterance’s likely communicative purpose?

A
The speaker is asking for a yes-or-no assessment of the hearer’s physical ability.
B
The speaker is ordinarily requesting that the hearer pass the salt.
C
The speaker is promising to pass the salt later.
D
The speaker is declaring that the salt belongs to the hearer.

Written response

1 point

A speaker gives an unrelated answer to a question, setting aside the expectation that a contribution be relevant. Which conversational maxim is involved?

Choose all

1 point

Which statements accurately describe Grice’s conversational maxims? Select all correct answers.

A
Quantity: provide enough information, but no more than needed.
B
Quality: include every detail, whether supported or not.
C
Quality: aim to say what is true and supported by evidence.
D
Relation: make a contribution relevant to the conversation.
E
Manner: be clear, orderly, and reasonably concise.
F
Manner: always use formal language.

True or false

1 point

True or false: Saying “Some of the guests arrived—in fact, all of them did” cancels a usual inference without contradicting the literal claim that some arrived.

A
True
B
False

Choose one

1 point

Under what condition can saying “I pronounce you married” function as a declaration that changes the couple’s status?

A
Whenever anyone says the words, regardless of circumstances
B
Only when the hearers believe the speaker is sincere
C
When the speaker is authorized and the relevant procedure is followed
D
Only when the sentence is spoken in a private room

Choose all

1 point

Which two utterances are commissives because they commit the speaker to an action? Select both correct answers.

A
“I promise to send the notes tonight.”
B
“I will repay you on Friday.”
C
“I apologize for being late.”
D
“The meeting starts at noon.”
E
“Please turn off the light.”
F
“I appoint Lee as chair.”

Fill in the blank

1 point

In a cold room, someone says, “The door is open,” intending to request that it be closed. The request is the utterance’s . If a hearer closes the door as a result, that effect is its .

Fill in the blank

1 point

A is planning a picnic and asks whether B will come. B replies, “I have to work.” A may infer that B will not attend; this indirectly conveyed conclusion is a , not part of B’s .

Open ended

1 point

A asks whether B will come to a picnic, and B replies, “I have to work.” Explain what B states literally, what A may infer, and why that inference is not guaranteed by the sentence itself.

Choose one

1 point

An authorized officiant says “I pronounce you married” while following the required procedure. Which speech-act function best describes the utterance?

A
It can bring about a status change when the speaker is authorized and the relevant procedure is followed.
B
It reports a status change that must already have happened.
C
It expresses the speaker’s feeling about marriage.
D
It asks the couple to take an action.

Choose one

1 point

A person says, “I’ll meet you here tomorrow.” Which information is needed to identify the people, place, and time referred to by this sentence?

A
The conventional meanings of the words alone
B
Who is speaking, who is addressed, the location, and the time of speaking
C
The speaker’s occupation and the listener’s age
D
The grammatical tense, without any information about the situation

Choose one

1 point

At dinner, someone asks, “Can you pass the salt?” Which communicative intention would a hearer ordinarily infer in this situation?

A
A request for the listener to confirm that the speaker can pass the salt
B
A literal question about whether the listener has the physical ability to pass salt
C
A request for the listener to pass the salt
D
A promise by the speaker to pass the salt later

Choose one

1 point

A is asked whether B is coming to a picnic. B replies, “I have to work.” What is the best account of what A may conclude?

A
The hearer may infer that B will not attend, though B’s words do not guarantee this
B
B’s words logically entail that B will not attend
C
B has explicitly said that the picnic is cancelled
D
The hearer can conclude that B will attend only after work

Choose one

1 point

During a downpour, someone says, “Wonderful weather!” Which conversational maxim does this speaker appear to flout to suggest irony?

A
Quantity
B
Relation
C
Manner
D
Quality

True or false

1 point

Grice’s conversational maxims are strict rules that speakers must always obey.

A
True
B
False

Written response

1 point

A speaker gives a report that presents a situation as true. What speech-act category does this belong to?

Written response

1 point

A speaker contributes information that is relevant to the current conversation. Which of Grice’s maxims is most directly associated with this expectation?