Speech acts

1. Which of the following verbs is not a performative verb?

• sentence

• condemn

• congratulate

• argue

2. True or False? The utterance 'I apologize only if I feel guilty' is a PERFORMATIVE UTTERANCE.

• TRUE

• FALSE

3. Which of the following utterance is a CONSTATIVE UTTERANCE?

• 'I authorize you to act on my behalf while I'm away.'

• 'I declare this bridge open.'

• 'I suggest we go to the cinema tonight.'

• 'I argue with him over the rent.'

4. Which of the following utterance DOES NOT contain a performative verb?

• ‘I apologize for breaking the vase.’

• ‘I think he has a point.’

• ‘I admit taking your money.’

• ‘I congratulate you on passing the exam.’

5. According to the Descriptive Fallacy view, what is the purpose of the utterance ‘The dog is in the garden’?

• to describe a particular state of affairs

• to inform the hearer of the position of the dog

• to declare that there is a particular dog in the garden

• to assert that the dog is not at the place of the speaker at the moment of speaking

6. True or False? A performative verb can only be used in a simple positive present tense sentence, with a 1st person singular subject"

• TRUE

• FALSE

7. The (a)   is the view that the sole purpose of making assertions is to describe some stage of affairs.

8. Identify whether the following utterance is performative or constative. 'I demand that the parcel be sent immediately.'

• performative

• constative

9. Performative utterances can have used with 3rd person plural subjects.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Identify whether the following utterance is PERFORMATIVE or CONSTATIVE:

"Johned promised to repay me tomorrow."

• Performative

• Constative

Answer explanation

The utterance describes a promise but is not itself a promise.