1. Why is it extremely difficult to provide an accurate, short and simple definition of the concept "subject of a sentence" (except in purely formalistic terms)? The concept "subject" in this context is a matter of structure, but any definition relies on meaning There are different types of verbs with different types of subjects For all of these reasons Sentences may have different kinds of subjects

2. "The subject of a sentence making a statement is the agent or 'active doer' of the action described by the verb, unless the verb is passive". Is this an accurate definition? Yes No

3. "The men panicked at once". From a semantic point of view, which of these categories best describes the role of "the men" in this sentence? Instrument Beneficiary Agent Experiencer

4. "Empires decline, decay and perish". Which of these best describes, in semantic terms, the role of "empires" here? Instrument Agent Beneficiary Object

5. "Anne succumbed to drowsiness and fell asleep at her desk". From a semantic point of view which of these categories best describes the role of Anne? Agent Beneficiary Place Experiencer

6. Is this sentence potentially ambiguous? "Those people terrify me". Yes No

7. "The key opened the door". Which of these best describes the semantic role of "the key" in this sentence? Experiencer Agent Instrument Object

8. "It's raining". What does "it" refer to in this sentence? A cloud The sky "It" doesn't refer to anything The weather

9. "Shut the window". What, if anything, can be regarded the semantic subject of this sentence? The notion of any subject in this sentence is a logical absurdity An implied "you" The window Imperative verbs never have any kind of subject, actual or implied

10. The function of linguistics is to tell people how to speak and write language correctly. True False