The results of a survey in which 50 British university students were asked to assess the acceptability of 40 indirect object sentences are analyzed, and some problems inherent in English indirect object constructions are discussed. (DS)

Revised version of a paper presented at the Spring Meeting of the Linguistics Association of Great Britain, York, April 1971. (DD)

Refutes the theory that indirect requests are ambiguous. Arguments for it are examined and an attempt is made to expose the weaknesses in the kinds of tests generally used to detect "illocutionary" ambiguity. An alternative analysis in the framework of semantics and the pragmatics of directive speech acts is suggested. (AMH)

Examines the idea of a mismatch between grammaticality and acceptability. Evidence is used to refute the claim that ungrammatical but acceptable sentences are theoretically plausible in the case of the sentence, "A not unhappy person entered the room." (AMH)