DLAB DLAB Contextual Word Order Rules 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In language Z, time expressions always come first in a sentence. 'I will eat tomorrow' is correctly reordered as:
- I will eat tomorrow
- Tomorrow I will eat (Correct answer)
- Eat I will tomorrow
- Will I tomorrow eat
Correct answer: Tomorrow I will eat
The time expression 'tomorrow' must move to sentence-initial position, yielding 'Tomorrow I will eat.'
Question 2: A fictional grammar rule states that possessives always follow the noun they modify. 'My book' (I=mi, book=libro) is expressed as:
- mi libro
- libro mi (Correct answer)
- mi alone
- libro alone
Correct answer: libro mi
The possessive (mi) must follow the possessed noun (libro), giving 'libro mi' (book my).
Question 3: In invented language Q, indirect objects come before direct objects after the verb. 'She gave me the book' has which structure?
- Subject-Verb-Direct Object-Indirect Object
- Subject-Verb-Indirect Object-Direct Object (Correct answer)
- Verb-Subject-Direct Object-Indirect Object
- Indirect Object-Subject-Verb-Direct Object
Correct answer: Subject-Verb-Indirect Object-Direct Object
The rule places the indirect object (me) before the direct object (the book), so the order is Subject-Verb-IO-DO.
Question 4: In a test language, prepositions follow their objects (postpositions). 'In the house' (house=kasa, in=en) becomes:
- en kasa
- kasa en (Correct answer)
- kasa alone
- en alone
Correct answer: kasa en
A postposition rule places the relational word after its object, giving 'kasa en' (house in).
Question 5: Language R places the most important information last in a sentence. For 'Yesterday John ran quickly,' which element appears last?
- Yesterday
- John
- ran
- quickly (Correct answer)
Correct answer: quickly
The manner adverb 'quickly' is the focal/most important information and therefore appears at the end.
Question 6: A fictional language places ALL modifiers after the words they modify. 'The fast red car stopped suddenly' would be reordered as:
- fast red car stopped suddenly
- car fast red stopped suddenly (Correct answer)
- suddenly stopped car fast red
- car red fast stopped suddenly
Correct answer: car fast red stopped suddenly
Each modifier follows its head: 'car' precedes 'fast' and 'red,' and 'stopped' precedes 'suddenly,' yielding car fast red stopped suddenly.
DLAB DLAB Contextual Word Order Rules 2
In language Z, time expressions always come first in a sentence. 'I will eat tomorrow' is correctly reordered as: