A review of analyses of conditionals (in the philosophical literature) and of topics (primarily in linguistics) reveals that their definitions are very similar. This paper justifies the method of basing semantic analysis of a construction on a cross-linguistic examination of its superficial form. (Author/NCR)

Two experiments examined the roles of semantic and surface information in reading and recognizing sentences. Results indicate that reading and recognition are interactive processes, involving conceptually driven and data driven operations; the interaction may be either automatic or controlled. Semantic and surface information are conceptualized as…

Describes ongoing research into errors in spontaneous speech. (RM)

Response latencies were obtained in word matching and sentence completion tasks from disabled readers, age-matched normal readers, and reading-level matched normal readers. Results indicated that perceptual and semantic processing are interconnected and improvements in the speed and accuracy of one facilitates improvements in the other. (HOD)

Two experiments that study subjects' memory for active and passive sentences are reported. A reaction time methodology is used to measure subjects' memory for verbatim information about the sentence. Retention of verbatim information displays traditional short-term versus long-term discontinuity. (CHK)

A presentation of an experiment testing the claim that on-line syntactic processing is autonomous and not affected by semantic content. Results suggested that before the clause boundary is reached, syntactic decisions can be influenced by prior semantic context. An appendix containing numerous examples of clauses and probe words is included. (AMH)

A system of grammatical analysis is presented which has certain mathematical properties and which produces the sentences of a language by means of two simple processes: word-entry and entry-reduction. This system is not an alternative to descriptions of grammatical patterns, but rather a complement to them. (DS)

Discusses noun phrases which involve typically predicative nouns, focusing on those anaphoric noun phrases that apparently have to be derived from predicates dominating an entire sentence. The ensuing modification of Bach's hypothesis provides evidence for a particular theory of relativization referred to as "the promotion analysis." (DS)

The third person singular pronouns are either neuter or sex linked even in situations where they should be neutral. When the sex is unknown then a substitute, for example "heesh" should be used. The present paper examines several of these awkward words and makes recommendations for substitutes. (Author)

Approximately 480 deaf students (age 10 to 19 years) and 60 hearing students (age 8 to 10 years) were asked to judge the grammaticality of sentences containing auxiliary verbs, of sentences where the verb had been deleted, and of sentences in which the verb tense was not marked. (Author)

This study demonstrates that a property of verbs, implicit causality, is important in determining coreference of potentially ambiguous anaphoric pronouns in a timed comprehension task. Verbs were classified according to bias toward a noun phrase; pairs of sentences were constructed for each. Response time was faster for congruent sentences. (CHK)

Describes a study of the effect of deletion-produced sentence structures on reading comprehension, the occurrence of deletion-produced sentence structures in a selected grade seven social studies text, and the effect of syntactic information in sentence structures in relation to contentive information on reading comprehension. (JM)

Verb patterns are arranged into the five following groups: Intransitive, intensive, monotransitive, ditransitive, and complex transitive. Each type is explained and illustrated. (CHK)

Suggests presenting Russian verbs of motion as graphic concepts through application of numerous illustrations, as explained here. Distinctions between orbit and trajectory must be maintained. (CHK)

Argues that problems in teaching grammar stem from failure to help students develop, as opposed to memorize, grammatical concepts. Recommends discussion of style and vocabulary, student stylistic analysis of their own writing, and deciphering syntactic use, not just definition, of parts of speech. Suggests that such training should begin in…