summary even dear linguists linguist list vol 8959 25 07 1997 posted following query three people responded investigation great thanks goes following people since judgements varied labelled b c convenience writing summary lynne roecklein lynne cc gifuu ac jp b laura gonnerman gonnerman scf usc edu c gary h toops toops twsuvm uc twsu edu query summary follows working probelms meanings even especially following socalled consequententailment reading even please help check accptablities following sentences following sentences acceptable natural flow interpretation please put ok slot comments sentences judge unacceptable kind context would consider increase acceptabilities 1 b ok c context employer puritanical would fire behaved considered libertine manner even wife smoked cigarettes would fire since would nt ever smoke wont fire comment even clause ok second halfdoesn match one would ever phrase combination ideas way split focus topic extent employer puritanism first half likelihood unlikelihood speaker fired second half find even japanese colleagues split focus thing time sentences extremely difficult often impossible parse natural way took several years familiarity japanese versions english even identify going sentences like love know effective way explain japanese students english wont work maybe important recognize pro9duced illicit split focus construction 2 b ok c even drink little boss fire since sruely wont drink wont fire comment even fire easily interpreted habitual surely wont drink would designate single event future sit uneasily together b since drinking lot antithetical drinking little last clause must imply boss thinking firing addressee reason case interpeting first half according connection firing drinking sentence fails virtue nonentailment hand one goes back reinterprets first half merely addressee sentence might possible given condition b abvove represents real state affairs would also implied boss needs little bit reason actualy execute firing final clause would sound better cant wont however scenario 3 b c even drink little boss fire since surely drink lot wont fire comment action posited even clause already maximum limit sentence logically impossible comment b continue sentence fine 3 ok even drink little boss fire since surely drink lot wont fire get fed quit gets chance 4 ok b ok c rain game continue even rains lightly game continue rains heavily rain cancelled sorry made mistake final clause game cancelled roecklein pointed 5 b c nt rain game continue even rains lightly game cancelled rains heavily game continue comment nonsense order logic comment b okay continue something like 5 ok nt rain game continue even rains lightly game cancelled rains heavily game continue moved indoor arena 6 b c even president get ingestion tonight ceasefire would end resume negotiations enemy treaty peace continue sorry mistyped word ingestion indigestion comment would imagine rather indigestion would contribute end ceasefire 7 ok b ok c even wife smoked cigarettes would scold ever broke favorite dishes would scold comment scold nto repeated end unnatural 8 b c even wife smokes cigarettes scold breaks favorite dishes scold comment underlying logic ok nt like even indicative present verb like mark conditionals verb aware usage process change proviso repeated scold preferences conditionals even clause indicative present three people however found many examples indicative type seems matter individual preferences comment b 8 ok even wife smokes cigarettes dinner table scold breaks favorite dishes scold comment c make sense many contexts postpose even clause e g scold wife even smokes cigarettes placing even clause first sentence makes emphatic summary 3 5 judged logically impossible expected understand laura gonnerman rephrasing ok sentence 5 6 also judged unnnatural three people though expected would ok seems final clause cahnges situation focus sentence ok finally must apologize use scold final two sentences one person reminded bad implication husband scolding wife nt notice japan husband scold wife arrogant person days thank much help please make comments usage glad make reply hiroaki tanaka associate professor faculty integrated arts sciences tokushima university japan 1 1 minamijousanjioma tokushima 770 japan phone fax 81 886 56 7125 email hirot ias tokushimau ac jp