SAMPLE TEST
You have 100 minutes to complete the following tasks. The maximum available score is indicated for
each task for your information. You are not allowed to use any kind of help, printed or electronic
resource
Part I. Definitions (max. available score: 10 x 2 = 20 points)
Explain briefly (in one or two sentences), with an example where applicable, what the following
terms mean. (The terms marked with an * do not require an example):
1. Prescriptive grammar
2. Linguistic competence*
3. Allomorph
4. Free and bound morphemes
5. Acronym
6. Stem
7. Onomatopoeia
8. Derivation
9. Conversion
10. Backformation
Part II. Essays (max. available score: 2 x 20 = 40 points)
A. Write a short essay on ONE of the topics given below!
Creativity in language
All languages have a grammar
B. Write a short essay on ONE of the topics given below!
Inflection versus derivation
Compounding
Part III. Practical exercises (max. available score: 15 points)
Exercise 1. Which of the following senetences are acceptable? Give reasons for a negative
answer:
1. John swept the staircase up.
2. John washed up them.
3. The red bus ran the dog over.
4. She was made to sit in the first row.
5. The spaceship was homing in on the space-station.
Exercise 2. Give the tree structures for the following (derived / compound) words:
1. unacceptable
2. disintegration
3. blockheadedness
4. hot water bath
5. low pressure steam engine
Exercise 3. Identify the word-formation processes giving the following words:
1. demo
2. stagflation (stagnation of production + inflation)
3. UNO
4. edit
5. e-mail (Verb)