Procedures and findings of three reading comprehension studies are reported. The first study compared cloze readability test scores for 130 pairs of students (grade 3 through college) with scores indicating the information gained from reading. Students gained little or no information when they could not answer more than 25 percent of the cloze…

The aim of this study is to supply the Russian language teacher with information about the patterns most frequently and consistently occurring in common speech. It begins with a discussion of normative grammar and linguistic reality, colloquial language, the sentence, sentence length, short expressions, and generative grammar. Sentences used in…

This introductory text in Punjabi (also spelled Panjabi) is intended primarily for those whose mother tongue is not Punjabi but are native speakers of other Indian languages. Some familiarity with the Punjabi cultural items is presupposed. The non-Indian may, however, also be able to use this text with profit since the lessons are graded. The…

The effect of sentence length and syntactic structure on the repeatability of sentences by native and foreign speakers of English was investigated in this study using 18 native English speakers, 30 advanced foreign students, and 114 intermediate level foreign students. Eighty-four sentences were presented for repetition, varying according to word…

This study examines the effect of expectation (children's judgments as to the probable actor within a given sentence) upon comprehension of passive sentences, the relationship of syntactic comprehension to the paradigmatic-syntagmatic shift in word associations, and the effect of sex on each. Forty first-graders and 40 kindergarteners were blocked…

Patterns and possibilities of free modifiers in written composition were studied. One purpose of the investigation was to help students communicate more effectively in writing. A more specific purpose was to determine if complicated syntactic elements used as free modifiers could be lifted from the complex subject of grammar and be presented as…

This study attempted to validate both the Fry-Kernel Distance Theory and the De Pierro findings, in determining the suitability of text material for the students to be instructed. First-year community college students were presented with sentences arranged in pairs, each representing two of four prescribed types. Subjects were to select the harder…

Describes an experimental computer-assisted history tutoring system that uses augmented transitional networks to allow computer interaction in natural language. (IRT)

Describes a program for understanding and generating natural language which handles paragraph-length imput. Its core, "preference semantics," a system of preferential choice between deep semantic patterns, is contrasted with: (1) syntax-oriented linguistic approaches, and (2) theorem-proving approaches to understanding. Available from…

This article discusses the notion of the scope of quantifiers in natural language. Previous studies are reviewed, and three factors essential to understanding scope are isolated: inherent characteristics of the quantifier, its grammatical function in a sentence, and serial distribution of predominance. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

In two experiments, subjects were interrupted while listening to a two-clause sentence just before the last word of either the initial clause or the final clause. The two experiments together suggest that interclause semantic relations affect the immediate processing of clauses. (Author/EJS)

This article reviews and criticizes Fay's particular transformational descriptions as implausible. (Author/NCR)

An experiment was conducted to determine whether the deep structure or the surface structure clause is more important as a speech planning unit, and whether syntactic decisions are made during sentence production. Results were discussed in relation to previous studies of pausing and speech disruption. (Author/CTM)

This lesson plan for a Spanish class includes a vocabulary list, a grammar discussion with questions and a poem followed by analytical questions. (NCR)

It is argued here that English contains a distinct class of relative clauses called amount relatives. On the surface, these are much like restrictive relative clauses, but they have a syntax and semantics that align them more with comparatives than with restrictive relatives. (Author/KM)