Exercise 1: Write down one implicature that can be drawn from the second
speaker’s response in each of the following conversations:
1. Mary: ‘Did you manage to fix that leak?’
Jim: ‘I tried to.’
2. Steve: ‘What happened to your flowers?’
Jane: ‘A dog got into the garden.’
3. Laura: ‘Who used all the printer paper?’
Dick: ‘I used some of it.’
4. Gina: ‘I hear you’re always late with the rent.’
Robin: ‘Well, sometimes I am.’
5. Jenny: ‘Mike and Annie should be here by now Was their plane late?’
Alfred: ‘Possibly.’
6. Gwen: ‘This cheese looks funny. The label said not to store the cheese in the freezer.’
Alvin: ‘Yeah, I did see the label.’
7. Mat: ‘What’s with your mother?’
Bob: ‘Let’s go to the garden.’
8. Carmen: ‘Did you buy the car?’
Patricia: ‘It cost twice as much as I thought it would.’
9. Robert: ‘Where’s the salad dressing?’
Gabriela: ‘We’ve run out of olive oil.’
10. Maggie: ‘The bathroom’s flooded!’
Jim: ‘Someone must have left the tap on.’
11. Austin: ‘Want some fudge brownies?’
Jenny: ‘There must be 20,000 calories there.’
12. Alice: ‘Have you seen my sweater?’
Max: ‘There’s a sweater on the sofa.’
13. Phil’s mother: ‘How did you on these exams?’
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Phil: ‘I failed physics.’
14. Paul: ‘I didn’t take it.’
Virginia: ‘Why you always lie?’
15. Tom: ‘It works now.’
Janet: ‘When did Eric fix it?’
16. Liza: ‘I hear you’ve invited Mat and Chris.’
Ed: ‘I didn’t invite Mat.’
17. A: ‘What are the Nelsons like?’
B: ‘They were rich.’
18. A: ‘What is this examination in Semantics like?’
B: ‘It is so easy this time.’
19. A: ‘Did you get the milk and the eggs?’
B: ‘I got the milk.’
20. A: ‘Did Carmen like the party?’
B: ‘She left after an hour.’
Exercise 2. In each case below decide which maxim has not been observed and what
conversational implicature might be drawn Background information is given in
square brackets
1. Student: Teheran is in Turkey, isn’t it?
Teacher: And London is in America, I suppose.
2. Jane: How come Mary’s all dressed up?
Mark: We’re going to the D-O-C-T-O-R.
3. A: Do you feel hungry?
B: I haven’t eaten for three days.
4. Professor 1: Is Tom a good student?
Professor 2: He has beautiful handwriting and is neatly dressed.
5. A: Do you know where Bob is?
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B: Well, he didn’t meet me for lunch as he was supposed.
6. Mom: Have you cleared the table and washed the dishes?
Son: I’ve cleared the table.
7. Speaker A: Do you want to go to the movies tonight?
Speaker B: My little sister is coming for a visit.
8. Student: I was absent on Monday – did I miss anything important?
Teacher: Oh no, of course not. We never do anything important in class.
9. A: I really like that dinner.
B: ‘I’m a vegetarian.’
10. A: Would you like a cocktail? It’s my own invention.
B: ‘Well, mmm uh it’s not that we don’t drink.
11. A: ‘How are you?’
B: ‘I’m dead.’
12. A: ‘We’re going to the movies.’
B: ‘I’ve got an exam tomorrow.’
13. A: ‘Are you going to Steve’s barbecue?’
B: ‘A barbecue is an outdoor party.’
14. Teacher [towards the end of a lecture]: ‘What time is it?’
Student: ‘It is 10: 44 and 35.6 seconds.’
15. Policeman [at the front door]: ‘Is your father or your mother at home?’
Small boy [who knows that his father is at home]: ‘Either my mother’s gone out shopping
or she hasn’t.’
16. Mother: ‘Now tell me the truth. Who put the ferret in the bathtub?’
Son [who knows who did it]: ‘Someone put it there.’
