Exercise 1: For each group of words given below, state what semantic features are shared by the

(a) words and the (b) words, and what semantic features distinguish between the classes of (a)
words and (b) words. The first one is done as an example.
1. (a) lobster, shrimp, crab, oyster, mussel
(b) trout, sole, herring, salmon, mackerel
(a) and (b) [+edible water animal]; (a)  [+shellfish]; (b)  [+fish]
2. (a) widow, mother, sister, aunt, seamstress
(b) widower, father, brother, unde, tailor
3. (a) bachelor, son, paperboy, pope, chief
(b) bull, rooster, drake, ram, stallion
4. (a) table, pencil, cup, house, ship, car
(b) milk, tea, wine, beer, water, soft drink
5. (a) book, temple, mountain, road, tractor
(b) idea, love, charity, sincerity, bravery, fear
6. (a) rose, lily, tulip, daisy, sunflower, violet
(b) ash, oak, sycamore, willow, beech
(c) pine, cedar, -ew, spruce, cypress
7. (a) book, letter, encyclopaedia, novel, notebook, dictionary
(b) typewriter, pencil, ballpoint, crayon, #uill, charcoal, chalk
8. (a) walk, run, skip, jump, hop, swim
(b) fly, skate, ski, ride, cycle, canoe, hang-glide
9. (a) ask, tell, say, talk, converse
(b) shout, whisper, mutter, drawl, holler
10. (a) alive, asleep, awake, dead, half-dead, pregnant
(b) depressed, bored, excited, upset, amazed, surprised
Exercise 2: Identify the semantic features in each of the following words.
1. Child: 9. Plod: 17. Drive: 24. Tiptoe.
2. Aunt: 10. Ewe: 18. Home: 25. Pine (-tree):
3. Hen: 11. Fly: 19. Elm: 26. Owe:
4. Oak (-tree): 12. Stallion: 20. Chalk: 27. Computer:
5. Flower: 13. Police-officer: 21. Rose-. 28. Honesty:
6. Palm: 14. Beauty: 22. Chick. 29. Maid:
7. Bachelor: 15. Imagine: 23. Oap 30. Spinster:
 8. Actress: 16. Doe:

Exercise 3: How can you distinguish the words given in the following table from one another,
considering their semantic features)
Malay English Vietnamese Chinese
anh huynh
brother
đệ
sadara em
muội
sister
chị tỉ

Exercise 4: Organise the given words (and probably those of your own) into three semantic
fields: shirts, end, forward(s), new, hats, lend, coats, shorts, beginning, trousers, amble, out, limp,
tiptoe, plod, socks, trudge, borrow, stomp, in, stump, old, backward(s), and tramp.

Exercise 5: Try to fill in each of the two blanks with an appropriate word to prove that there is
no lexical gap in the given semantic fields.
sheep
ram ewe ……………

giraffe
male giraffe …………… baby giraffe

Exercise 6: Consider the following table and identify referent, reference and sense via their main
features.
REFERENT REFERENCE SENSE
between a language and the
in the external world in a language
external world
either real or imaginary abstract abstract
the relationship between the word
a man who has not ever
bachelor bachelor and a certain unmarried unmarried man
been married
man
Bạch the lovely princess in a the relationship between the name “Tuyết Trắng”
Tuyết fairy tale which I have Bach Tuyet and the very princess
 already read

Exercise 7: What is identified by the word mean or meaning in the following examples, i.e.
reference or sense). Write R for reference and S for sense.
1. When Albert talks about “his former friend”, he means me.
2. Daddy, what does logic mean?
3. Purchase has the same meaning as buy.
4. Look up the meaning of democracy in your dictionary.
5. If you look out of the window now, you’ll see who I mean.

Exercise 8: Identify all the possible connotations associated with the word Christmas.
FIGURATIVE SPEECH
1. Simile (/ˈsɪmɪli/) and metaphor (/metəfɔːʳ/)
A simile is an explicit or direct comparison in which something is compared to something else
by the use of a function word such as like or as.
as brave as a lion
a face like a mask
My hands are as cold as ice,
Tom eats like a horse.

A metaphor is an implicit or indirect comparison in which no function word is used. Metaphor

is based on the associated similarity shared by the two things being implicitly compared. In other
words, only if A and B are similar to each other in some way can the name commonly referred to
be metaphorically used to refer to B.
I’ll make him eat his words.
She has a heart of stone.
He was a lion in the fight.
His words stabbed at her heart.
The organization is keeping the brake on pay rises.

Dead metaphors are in fact idioms or fixed expressions that native speakers of a language give
special meanings and use naturally and unconsciously.
(Ẩn dụ chết (Dead metaphor) là một loại ẩn dụ đã chuyển nghĩa theo thời gian làm mất
đi hình ảnh ban đầu do được sử dụng nhiều lần. Bởi vì ẩn dụ chết có một ý nghĩa thông
thường khác với nguyên gốc, chúng có thể được hiểu mà không cần biết nội hàm trước
đó. )
the leg / face of the table
the back of the chair
the mouth of the river
the head of the state
the childhood of the earth, etc.
He looks as though he hasn’t had a square meal for months.
He washed his hand out of the matter.
Live metaphors are implied or indirect comparisons which have a variety of figurative
meanings through their endless use.
(Một phép ẩn dụ sáng tạo là những ẩn dụ được tạo theo những cách mới và khác nhau và thường
thấy trong văn chương, thơ ca. Phép ẩn dụ này liên tục được tạo ra với góc nhìn và cách nhìn của
người viết.)

Tom is a pig  short and fat; slow and lazy; greedy; not intelligent; neither intelligent nor
ambitious, etc.
You are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

2. Personification (/pəʳˈsɒnɪfɪkeɪʃən/)
Personification is a special kind of metaphor in which some human characteristic is attributed to
an inanimate object or abstract notion, that is, a lifeless thing or quality is stated as if it were
living.
(Nhân hoá là biện pháp tu từ trong đó một sự vật hoặc con vật được mô tả bằng những đặc điểm,
tính chất, hành động của con người. )

pitiless cold, cruel heat, a treacherous calm, a sullen sky, a frowning rock, the thirsty
ground, the laughing harvest, the childhood of the world, the anger of the tempest, the deceit
fulness of riches, etc.

3. Metonymy (/mɪˈtɒnɪmɪ/)
Metonymy is the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another to which it is related /
with which it is associated.
(là biện pháp tu từ được sử dụng trong đó một đối tượng được gọi bằng tên của một đối tượng
khác có liên quan hay có nét tương đồng với nó nhằm tăng sức gợi hình, gợi cảm.)

a. A sign substitutes for the person or the object it signifies or symbolices.

He succeeded to the crown (the royal office).
She is a fighter against red tape (bureaucracy, office routine).
The new proposal might affect the cloth (the clergy) in some way.
Backstairs did influence. (intrigues, secret plans to do something bad, secret arrangements)
Can you protect your children from the cradle to the grave? (from childhood to death)
b. An instrument substitutes for an agent.
The pen (the writer) has more influence than the sword.
He is the best pen (the best writer) of the day.
Who brought fire and sword (a destructive war) into our country?
We need a force of a thousand rifles (soldiers).
Sceptre and crown (king)
Must tumble down
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade (peasants).
(Like peasants, kings must die.)
c. A container substitutes for the thing contained.
The kettle (the water in the kettle) is boiling.
(He drank the cup. (the coffee, the tea, the chocolate, etc. in the cup)
He is too fond of the bottle (the liquor in the bottle).
The conquerors smote the city (the inhabitants of the city).
Why don’t you recognize the power of the purse? (the money kept in the purse)
d. The concrete substitutes for the abstract.
She has an ear for music. (a remarkable talent for learning, imitating, appreciating etc.
music.)
She has a good head of business. (She is clever at deaỉing with business.)
No man is an island (isolation): entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent
(community).
e. The abstract substitutes for the concrete.
 His Majesty (the king) died a year ago.
His Holiness (the Pope) has )ust come back to Rome.
The authorities (The group of people who have the power to give orders or take action)
put an end to the riot.
f. The material substitutes for the thing made.
The marble (the marble statue) speaks.
All our glass is kept in the cupboard. (vessels and articles made of glass)
He was buried under this stone. (this tomb made of stone, this tombstone)
g. An author / producer / a place where goods are made substitutes for his work(s) / its
produces.
1 have never read Keat (Keat’s poems).
Have you ever read Homer (the works of Homer)?
I love old china (crockery made in China).

4. Synecdoche (/sɪnˈekdəkɪ/) (hoán dụ)

Synecdoche is a special kind of metonymy in which a part or aspect of a person, object,
etc. is meant to refer to the whole person, object, etc.
They organized a fleet of fifty sails (ships).
He is a man of seventy winters (years of age).
He managed to earn his bread (necessaries).
This is a village of only more than one hundred souls (people).
Gray hairs (old or elderly people) should be respected.
Synecdoche also involves a whole or genus used to substitute for a part or species: vessel (ship);
the smiling year (the smiling season of the year especially the spring); the Christian world
The princess captures the hearts (emotional experience) of the nation. (Metonymy)
He has a kind heart. (Synedoche)
Spare the rod (the punishment) and spoil the child. (Metonymy)
All hands on deck did help. (Synedoche)

5. Hyperbole (/haɪˈpɜːʳbəli/) (Nói quá (hay phóng đại)

Hyperbole (also called overstatement), is the use of exaggerated statement that is made for
special effect and is not meant to be taken literally.
I’ve invited millions of (a lot of) people to my party.
She sheds floods of tears (cries a lot) whenever she is upset.
 Don’t live in such a sea of doubt. (Don’t be too suspicious.)
Never in a million years will he admit defeat.
I haven’t seen you for ages. (for a few weeks, for a couple of months, for a while)
6. Litotes (/ˈlaɪtəʊˌtiːz/) ( nói giảm nói tránh)
Litotes (also called meiosis /maɪˈəʊsɪs/) is the use of deliberately gentler, milder or weaker
statements to express something in a controlled way.
I don't think I would agree with you. (I disagree with you.)
I am afraid that no passenger is allowed to smoke in here. (You are not allowed to smoke
in here.)
It’s not bad. (fine.)
It wasn’t easy. (very difficult.)
Always remember that she is no fool (worldly wise, in fact).
Jim was rather (very) upset when he again failed in the final exam.

7. s
Irony is the expression of one’s meaning by saying the direct opposite of one’s thoughts in order
to be emphatic, amusing, sarcastic, etc.
What a Iovely day it was! Everything 1 had went wrong.
He is so intelligent that no examiner has agreed to pass him so far.
He is lucky to have such an ugly and awkward wife.
She is extremely unlucky to be born in such a prosperous family in a developed European
country.
Your plan is really tricky. The other team will figure it out in about one play.

8. Euphemism (/ˈjuːfəmɪzəm/)
Euphemism is the use of pleasant, mild or indirect words or phrases in place of more accurate or
direct ones.
undertakers (morticians)
funeral director / sanitation engineer (a garbage man)
A taboo word is the word or the linguistic expression that refers to a taboo act or behaviour in a
society, a culture or a speech community.
A taboo word and its euphemism share the same denotative meaning but they differ in their
connotative meanings: the taboo word has a negative connotation whereas its euphemism has a
positive connotation.
 Euphemism Taboo words
social disease syphilis
criminal assault rape
handicapped crippled
mentally ill insane
underprivileged poor
developing or less developed (country) poor (country)
more developed (country) rich (country)
senior citizens the aged
laid to rest buried
perspiration sweat
intoxicated drunk
abdomen belly
odour stink or smell
expectorate spit
retarded or unusual mentally defective
hard of hearing deaf
love child bastard
pass away die
(his) Majesty’s guest in jail

9. Onomatopoeia (/ˈɒnəmætəpiːə/)
Onomatopoeia is the imitation of natural sounds by means of words or groups of words: hiss,
cuckoo, thud, moo, baa, hush, pop, etc.
Semi-onomatopoeia: growl, splash, crackle, etc.
She is always squeaking and squawking.
We could hear the enemy guns booming (away) in the distance.
He felt a tap on his shoulder.
Rain was dripping down from the trees. Its steady drip kept me awake all night long.

Exercise 9: Interpret the meaning the following sentences and state what kind of figures of
speech (also called figurative language) used in each of them.
1. When he gets going, Jack is a streak of lightning.
2. I found the fifty-two pounds of books you left for me to carry. Your kindness really moved
me.
3. The man is a demon for work.
4. When you take that course, plan to study thirty hours a day.
5. The wind howled angrily around the house all night.
6. When the White House called( the ambassador went at once.
7. My dormitory room is like a cave.
8. Come to the dormitory and see what a cave I live in.
9. Dick was fairly pleased when he won the brand-new car in the contest.
10. If you are not happy with the service, go and talk to the City Hall.
11. Man does not live by bread alone.
12. We now live under the same roof.
13. Albert was as sharp as a tack this morning. He answered every question as soon as it was
asked.
14. The river ate the bank away.
15. Keep overeating like that and pretty soon you’ll weigh a thousand pounds.
16. After she heard the good news, she grinned like a mule eating briars.
17. The captain was in charge of one hundred horses.
18. Joe cried a little when he lost the thousand dollars.
19. You can depend on Gina; she is a rock when trouble comes.
20. Life is a dream.
21. He’s so hardheaded that he won’t listen to anyone.
22. Research says that these methods are best.
23. Right at this minute, I could drink a barrel of water without stopping.
24. It is amazing what a great mind he is.
25. Alice came in gently, like a May breeze.
26. Susie is a picture of loveliness in her new dress.
27. A thousand thanks are for your kindness.
28. I walked past the big sad mouth which didn’t know what to say then.
29. We are tired to death of such movies.
30. Give every man thine ears, bid a few thy voice.
31. There was a storm in Parliament last night.
32. I’m afraid he has misrepresented the facts.
33. He worked and worked until he breathed his last.
34. We’ll just have to go our separate ways.
35. They were vital, unforgettable matches that gave us a new window on the game.
36. I’ve told you a thousand times not to touch that again.
37. He is as mute as a fish.
38. We stopped to drink in the beautiful scenery.
39. His words can be trusted.
40. The police team has cemented close ties with the hospital staff.
41. The boss gave her a hot look.
42. He could not bridle his anger.
43. He attacked every weak point in my argument.
44. In 1940, after the fall of France, England had no defense left but her ancient valor.
45. The fire snaps and crackles like a whip; its sharp acrid smoke stings the eyes. It is the fire
that drives a thorn of memory in my heart.
46. The organization is keeping the brake on pay rises.
47. Her father is a captain of industry.
48. I am the captain of my soul.
49. To fall out of a tree in one’s early childhood is not a particularly reassuring experience.
50. No man is an island: entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent.

Exercise 10: Each of the following sentences presents a pair of words. Which of them is a
superordinate and which, a hyponym?
1. She reads books all day – mostly novels.
2. A crocodile is a reptile.
3. There’s no flower more beautiful than a tulip.
4. He likes all vegetables except carrots.

Exercise 11: Draw a chart to show the relationship between a superordinate and a hyponym.
1. luggage and suitcase
2. green vegetable and bean
3. animal and foal
4. animal and child
5. fowl and rooster
6. plant and coconut
7. plant and rose
8. vocal organ and tongue tip
9. head and eyelash
10. furniture and dressing table
11. vehicle and convertible
12. vocalize and croon

Exercise 12: The following pairs of words are partial synonyms, i.e. they do not share all their
senses. For each pair, (a) gives a sentence in which the two can be used interchangeably; (b)
gives another sentence in which only one of them can be used.
1. strong / powerful
2. ripe / mature
3. broad / wide
4. soil / earth
5. edge / side
6. permit / allow

Exercise 13: Identify various meanings of each of the two given polysemous words and then
point out which meaning exemplify partial synonymy.
1. deep
(a) This is a deep well.
(b) He only gave a deep sigh.
(c) You have my deep sympathy.
(d) With his hands deep in his pockets, he went away.
The ……………… meaning of deep is synonymous with …………… .
2. broad
(a) The river is very broad at this point.
(b) He just gave a broad smile.
(c) Luckily, my boss is a man of broad views.
(d) He speaks English with a broad Yorkshire accent.
The ……………… meaning of deep is synonymous with …………… .
Exercise 14: Are the following pairs of words binary antonyms?
(a) chalk – cheese
(b) same – different
(c) copper – tin
(d) dead – alive
(e) married – unmarried
(f) cheap – expensive

Exercise 15: Are the following pairs of words relational antonyms?

(a) below – above
(b) love – hate
(c) conceal – reveal
(d) grandparent – grandchild
(e) greater than – less than
(f) own – belong to

Exercise 16: Identify the continuous scale of values between the two given words.
(a) love – hate:
(b) hot – cold:
(c) big – small:
(d) rich – poor:
(e) none – all:
(f) possibly – certainly:
(g) never – always:

Exercise 17: State whether the following pairs of antonyms are binary, gradable or relational by
writing B (binary), G (gradable) or R (relational):
(a) good – bad:
(b) pass – fail:
(c) deciduous – evergreen:
(d) expensive – cheap:
(e) parent – offspring:
 (f) beautiful – ugly:
(g) false – true:
(h) lessor – lessee:
(i) import – export:
(j) better than – worse than:
(k) easy – difficult:
(l) hot – cold:
(m)legal – illegal:
(n) asleep – awake:
(o) rude – polite:
(p) husband – wife:

Exercise 18: Give the phonemic transcription shared by two members of each of the given pairs
of words to identify them as a pair of homophones.
The first one is done as an example.
(1) altar /ˈɒl.tə(r)/ - alter
(2) beech – beach
(3) boar – bore
(4) coarse – course
(5) crews – cruise
(6) deer – dear
(7) draft – draught
(8) fare – fair
(9) flour – flower
(10) grate - great
(11) herd – heard
(12) knight -night
(13) nose – knows
(14) leek – leak
(15) maid – made
(16) pail – pale
(17) reign – rain
(18) scene – seen
 (19) thrown – throne
(20) whole - hole

Exercise 19: Give the phonemic transcription shared be two members of each of the given pairs
of words to identify them as a pair of homonyms. The italic words in bracket are to clarify the
meaning in question of the given words. The first one is done as an example.
(1) lie (tell lies) – lies (put one’s body on a horizontal surface) /laɪ/
(2) bat (a tool for hitting in baseball) - bat (the small mouse-like animal that flies at night
and feeds on fruit and insects)
(3) too (more than should be) – too (also)
(4) might (great strength or power) – might (expressing possibility)
(5) bare (without the usual covering or protection) – bare (uncover or reveal something)
(6) sound (thing that can be heard) – sound (healthy or in good condition)
(7) lead (as in Does this road lead to town?) – lead (as in He’s the chief trouble-maker; the
others just follow his lead)

Exercise 20: What is the relationship between the words in the following pairs? If the words are
antonyms, specify what kind of antonyms they are. The italic words in bracket are to clarify the
meaning in question of the given words. The first one is done as an example.
(1) true – false: binary antonymy
(2) gloom – darkness:
(3) dark (as in a dark room) – dark (as in Don’t look on the dark side of things).
(4) wind (as in The wind is blowing hard.) – wind (as in wind one’s watch)
(5) deny – admit
(6) host – guest
(7) sow (as in sow a field with wheat) – sow (a female pig)
(8) pupil (at a school) – pupil (of an eye)
(9) cheap – expensive
(10) coarse – course

Exercise 21: Explain the lexical ambiguity in each of the following sentences by providing two
sentences that paraphrase its two different meanings. The first one is done as an ex ample.
(1) They were waiting at the bank.
 They were waiting at the financial institution.
  They were waiting at the shore of the river.
(2) The long drill is boring.
(3) When he got the clear title to the land, it was a good deed.
(4) The proprietor of the fish store was the sole owner.
(5) We like the ball.
(6) They passed the port at night.
(7) The captain corrected the list.
(8) He was knocked over by the punch.
(9) The camel swallowed the chocolate and then ate it.

Exercise 22: Does polysemy or homonymy contribute to the lexical ambiguity in each of the two
given sentences.
(1) She cannot bear children.
(2) The cat sat on the mat.

Exercise 23: In what way are homonyms related to lexical ambiguity?

Exercise 24: In what way is a polysemous word related to lexical ambiguity?

Exercise 25:Explain the structural ambiguity in each of the following sentences:

(1) The drunkard visitor rolled up the carpet.
(2) Is he really that kind?
(3) My fiancee is reserved.
(4) I saw her slip.
(5) I saw her duck.
(6) They are cooking bananas.
(7) They are moving sidewalks.
(8) John loves Richard more than Martha.
(9) Old men and women will be served first.
(10) The thing that bothered Bill was crouching under the table.

Exercise 26: Explain the anomaly of each of the following sentences.

 (1) Christopher is killing phonemes.
(2) My brother is a spinster.
(3) The boy swallowed the chocolate and then chewed it.
(4) Babies can lift one ton.
(5) Puppies are human.
(6) My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor.
(7) The bigger #ey and 4ohn opened the door.
(8) James sliced the ideas.
(9) Jack’s courage chewed the bones.
(10) I hear the cloud.
(11) The tiger remained alive for an hour after the hunter killed it.

Exercise 27: How can each of the given sentences be changed to avoid anomaly?