Jack and Jill went out on their first date last weekend. During the evening, Jack said to Jill, "Will you marry me?" Jill did not understand what Jack what trying to convey because his question was inappropriate given the status of their relationship at this point. Which rules of language use were violated by Jack's request and explain why Jill did not understand the message?
A) pragmatic rules
B) semantic rules
C) syntactic rules
D) both a and c are correct

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Jack's request violated pragmatic rules of language use, which involves using language appropriately according to the context and situation. As they were on their first date, proposing marriage was not an appropriate topic to bring up. This caused confusion for Jill as the question did not match the context of their relationship.

Jack and Jill Went Out on Their First Date Last