First read study the post Alienans Adjectives. Then take the quiz. Answers below the fold. Classify the adjectives in the following examples as either specifying (S), alienans (A), or neither (N). Much of course depends on the context in which the phrase is used. So imagine a plausible and common context.
1. Deciduous tree. 2. Alleged assailant. 3. Imaginary friend. 4. Material implication. 5. Contemptible leftist. 6. Infrared radiation. 7. Hypothetical medium of the transmission of electromagnetic signals. 8. Postal service. 9. Imaginary number. 10. Male chauvinist.
1. S. 2. A. 3. A. 4. A: If p materially implies q, it does not follow that p implies q. 5. N in most contexts; S in some. 6. S. 7. A. 8. S, except as a joke. 9. S: an imaginary cat is not a cat, but an imaginary (complex) number is a number. 10. A: a male chauvinist is not a chauvinist.
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