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. (T114) About the following sentence: The new bears arrived at the zoo in 2002 but it took months for them to settle in their new surroundings. 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. (T088) About the following sentence: On Jul/2011 Timothy graduated from university, less than 15 years after completing his stage 1 high school exams. 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 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 years.

3. (T029) About the following sentence: Ann planted some flowers in February this year. They are now blossoming well. Hopefully they will continue to produce flowers next month. 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]

4. (T073) About the following sentence: The botanic gardens opened in May this year. Owners had applied for funding for it some years previously. 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.

5. (T092) About the following sentence: In 2005 we started our promotional campaign which lasted more than 45 days. What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in days) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 and Select one... 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 more than 90 days.

6. (T071) About the following sentence: In 2007 we grew very good crops. For several weeks we celebrated our good fortune. 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. (T056) About the following sentence: Jerry insured his sports car last month. He will need to renew it in approximately 1 year. 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 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 more than 24 months.

8. (T139) About the following sentence: We've won the award for best coffee since 2009. This year's winners will be announced within the next few days and receive their certificate some weeks later. 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.

9. (T068) About the following sentence: Jan and Tim bought their current home in 2001, after many months of legal paperwork. 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.

10. (T096) About the following sentence: We started the course at the beginning of 2013, more than 1 week after the course administration office opened. 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.

11. (T027) About the following sentence: I went for a physiotherapy check-up two years ago. It was to check up on an injury I had over 20 years ago. My knee is currently giving me trouble again. What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in years) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 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 and Select one... 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 more than 40 years.

12. (T118) About the following sentence: In December last year we started trading. Within approximately 7 days we had launched our website. We plan to add more features to the website next year. 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 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 more than 15 days.

13. (T034) About the following sentence: The new transport system was introduced in 2010 after years of complaints from cyclists. Experts took 4 months to devise a successful solution. 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 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 years.

14. (T006) About the following sentence: Tim moved into his city centre flat on 03/07/1995. But in less than 5 months he had moved out again! The flat has had a damp problem for at least 2 years. 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 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 months.

15. (T050) About the following sentence: The tennis tournament ended last week, approximately 7 months after contestants began training for it. 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 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 more than 24 months.