Native speaker judgements

[uturan]

Dear Colleagues

I have a student who is working on the use of ergative unaccusative verbs by
Turkish learners of English. He has to use native speaker judgements as well for
comparison.If you are a native speaker and could spend a few minutes on a
grammaticality judgment test, we will be grateful. If you could help him,
please get in touch with him at  <acan at uludag.edu.tr>

His message is below.

Thanks in advance

Umit Deniz Turan
Middle East Technical University
Informatics Institute
Dept of Cognitive Science
06531 ANKARA

> Hocam,
> I posted this message to some discussion boards, and received (and
> receiving) some responses. My aim is to obtain some 50 responses. (You know
> the reason why I emphasise this part of my work.) Would it be possible for
> you to forward this message to native speakers of English you know. (Of
> course you can modify my message if you think it is necessary)
> Sincerely
> Abdullah
>
> If you are a native speaker of English, and interested in contributing to a
> research please go on reading, otherwise just delete this message and accept
> my apologies for occupying you.
>
> At the very beginning, it was a simple query about some intransitive verbs
> called  ergatives  or unaccusatives which can form grammatical sentences in
> NP-VP word order such as "This book sells much." Some responses from native
> speakers of English revealed that there is no consensus on the usage of some
> of these verbs. This result seems to be a   challenge to the known claim
> that most learners use these verbs erroneously by passivising them, for
> considerable portion of native speakers I corresponded preferred passive
> structures. Finally, I collected responses of some 50 advanced learners of
> English by means of a sentence completion task, and now I need at least the
> same number of native speaker responses to see if there is significant
> difference in responses.
>
> Would it be possible for you, as a native speaker of English, to complete
> the following sentences with the given verbs. I would be grateful if you
> could forward this message those who could help me.
>
> Thanks in advance.
> Abdullah CAN
> Uludag University  Bursa   acan at uludag.edu.tr
>
> 1 Mary always washes her skirt until it is clean. We know that the skirt is
> made of material capable of being washed without damage or fade. We can say
> that Mary's skirt ----------- well.   (to wash)
>
> 2 The peel of an orange is different from the peel of an apple. For
> instance, one can easily peel an orange without a knife, but whoever wants
> to peel an apple should use a knife. From that viewpoint, an orange is
> different from an apple, because an orange ----------- easily no matter who
> does it.  (to peel)
>
> 3 Cleaning a kitchen sink has been a problem for most people. To help them,
> manufacturers   produced a kitchen sink with a smooth surface which never
> holds leftovers. Such kitchen sinks --------------- easily no matter what
> type of detergent is used.    (to clean)
>
> 4 If you suffer from an ulcer you should refrain from eating fried meat.
> Instead you should eat boiled meat. It is easy to chew boiled meat.
> Besides, boiled meat -------------------- easily.  (to  cut)
>
> 5 I bought a bag, but my wife couldn't carry it easily. I bought a new one
> which has handles. Unfortunately, she couldn't carry it either. In the end,
> I bought a third one which has straps. Fortunately she liked it since this
> bag ----------------------- easily.  (to carry)
>
> 6 Some tea cups made of glass might be manufactured in such a way that they
> do not react well to instant changes in temperature. When you pour boiling
> water in such a cup, it -------------------- easily.  (to break)
>
> 7 To save time most students prefer ready meals or meals quick to prepare.
> Macaroni is one of the favourite meals of students, because
> it ----------------------- quickly and easily.  (to cook)
>
> 8 An estate agent found an apartment for us. It was in a good district and
> near the school. Besides, it was on the third floor and the rent was low.
> Moreover the building was a new one and needed no repair.  He strongly
> recommended us to rent it immediately. He is right, because such
> apartments ----------------------- easily and someone might rent it before
> us.   (to rent)
>
> 9 To swallow a pill is difficult for some people. I know this difficulty,
> because some pills are broken into parts or some of them dissolve in the
> mouth. The case is not the same if the pill is covered with a thin, sugary
> substance. Such pills --------------------- easily because they are neither
> dissolved nor broken into pieces. (to swallow)
>
> 10 He is considered to be the most famous writer of the decade, for he has a
> great number of readers. His sentences are simple and easy to understand.
> His vocabulary choice is favourable, because he selects common words known
> by everybody. Moreover, he has a pleasant style. Consequently his
> novels ------------------  well. (to read)