Cognitive Analysis of Imprecise Temporal Expressions

Objective To see how people interpret vague descriptions of time in text. Examples of vague expressions are: "many days", "more than one hour", "about 2 months".

Instructions All the following questions are fictional. Each question shows a sentence comprising 2 to 3 descriptions of time that can be precise or imprecise. The target descriptions of time to be evaluated will be underlined. There are no right or wrong answers, or trick questions. Please work quickly and do not think too long about the exact meaning of the question. *** All questions must be answered before submitting the form.

Questions

1. (T095) About the following sentence: The application deadline was in August 2013, allowing you more than 10 months to complete the application. What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in months) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 more than 36 months.

2. (T075) About the following sentence: My father was a lawyer eight years ago. He practised for a few years before changing career. What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in years) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 more than 25 years.

3. (T023) About the following sentence: Radley Restaurants added pizzas to their menu in 2013. They offered these to customers at a discount for more than 3 weeks, and gave a free desert to those who came often in 1 month. What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in weeks) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 more than 26 weeks.

4. (T141) About the following sentence: The BigDog game was released in April this year. Hundreds of consumers expressed an interest some months before and could reserve their copy for 2 weeks before release. What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in months) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 more than 36 months.

5. (T110) About the following sentence: I set the deadline for submitting essays three weeks ago but I am currently still waiting for essays from 2 students. Which one do you consider the most appropriate option to express the amount of time since when the event associated with the underlined expression occurred? Select one... [days] [weeks] [months] [years]

6. (T108) About the following sentence: The school year began in October 2010 but it has taken weeks for students to really settle. What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in weeks) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 more than 26 weeks.

7. (T037) About the following sentence: Amy has advised many fashion brands in the last 7 years. And recently took part in a major campaign for a new designer. Organizers hired a special nature set for 2 weeks. Which one do you consider the most appropriate option to express the amount of time since when the event associated with the underlined expression occurred? Select one... [days] [weeks] [months] [years]

8. (T051) About the following sentence: Phillip started martial arts classes seven years ago, and became a black belt within about 14 months. What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in months) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 more than 36 months.

9. (T137) About the following sentence: A female horse gave birth last month although it had complications several days before the birth but was well recovered 1 week after the birth. What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in days) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 more than 90 days.

10. (T003) About the following sentence: I am going shopping in the sales tomorrow. Any unwanted items must be returned in less than 30 days, though I usually return most items within 1 week of purchase. What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in days) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 days.

11. (T132) About the following sentence: 2013 was a great year for growing tulips. However, what we expect is our roses will be blooming well in approximately 6 years. That is why we are not able to enter them into a competition in May. What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in years) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 more than 10 years.

12. (T128) About the following sentence: Mr Smith left the department in April 2010. The department was without a manager for about 2 weeks. The new manager's contract will expire in 18 months. What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in days) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 more than 30 days.

13. (T083) About the following sentence: In 29/08/2012 a Russian man went to the South Pole, less than 3 weeks after visiting the North Pole! What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in days) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 days.

14. (T012) About the following sentence: I have been taking classes since August/2011. I will graduate in less than 4 years and will then have serious celebrations in August. What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in months) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... less than 24 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 and Select one... 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 months.

15. (T045) About the following sentence: It has taken 7 months to write my autobiography, and will be released in about 18 days. What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in days) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 more than 45 days.