English Linguistics - Assignment 1 James Madison University

[This assignment will be marked only as an acceptable or unacceptable effort.]

1. Write down one example of each type of sentence below.
   1. A sentence never before heard in the English language.
   2. A sentence you usually say at least once a day.
   3. A sentence that sounds like good English but doesn't make sense.
   4. A sentence that is understandable but also ungrammatical.
2. Listen closely to a conversation or conversations, perhaps by your friends, at the bookstore, on television, or wherever, and write down at least three examples of people speaking perfectly naturally in less than a full sentence. (Example: "Nice pants.") Also find one additional written example. What are your intuitions about why these utterances were okay?
3. Do you think every language has sentences? Why or why not?