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. (T025) About the following sentence: The new cement base was built in August last year, taking in total over 2 years to build it, though the business has recently undergone modifications. What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in months) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 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... 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 more than 48 months.

2. (T014) About the following sentence: I was given a lot of responsibility last week at work, as I have almost 12 years of experience. By 2013 I would like to get a promotion. 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 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 years.

3. (T116) About the following sentence: We will be replacing the monitors starting this year but it may be years for all our monitors to be replaced worldwide. 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.

4. (T125) About the following sentence: On 25/03/2012 the company launched its website. In approximately 6 months we will launch a second site. By next year we hope to see great benefits. 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 and Select one... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 more than 12 months.

5. (T148) About the following sentence: On 13/02/2009 Harry won the lottery, having started playing some years ago. He plans a luxury family holiday in late April. 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.

6. (T005) About the following sentence: The deadline for applications was 02/07/2012. They said we would receive a response in less than 2 months. I got a response in just 4 weeks! What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in days) for the highlighted expression? Something between Select one... 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 and Select one... 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 days.

7. (T015) About the following sentence: The rice festival is in February each year. For more than 3 days people throw rice in celebrations. It takes about 10 days to clear everything up fully. 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.

8. (T021) About the following sentence: The school will hold student exams in June. These are expected to last for more than 1 week. Results will be released about 8 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 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.

9. (T042) About the following sentence: Andy and Paul have been good friends since 2011. They exchanged contact details about 5 days after meeting. 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.

10. (T131) About the following sentence: It snowed heavily in late January this year. This comes about 1 year after our last heavy snow storm and significant snow in early December the previous 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.

11. (T146) About the following sentence: The town had a hurricane in March 2015. The community pulled together for several weeks to repair the damage, building friendships for many years to come. 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.

12. (T143) About the following sentence: Ryan bought a motorbike seven years ago, after many months of having lessons. He will take the test in 3 weeks. 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.

13. (T032) About the following sentence: This time last year we had many car rentals. Although there have not been so many sales in the last months so we'll wait two months before increasing our advertising. 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.

14. (T064) About the following sentence: I went to the Caribbean on holiday in July 2014. We stayed on each island for a few days each. 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.

15. (T104) About the following sentence: 10 days ago Marie was admitted to hospital and is now recovering well. 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]