Word Classes

What are the four major English content-word classes?

Nouns (N), verbs (V), adjectives (Adj), and adverbs (Adv).

• N + V are considered universal grammatical categories.

• These are content words because they carry substantial lexical/semantic meaning.

What are the four criteria used to assign words to word classes?

1. Morphological — What affixes/forms can the word take?

2. Morpho-syntactic — What inflections can the word have?

3. Syntactic — Where does the word occur and what other words can it occur with?

4. Semantic — What does the word mean/how is it used?

What is morphological evidence for word class?

Morphology examines the form of a word and its affixation.

Example:

• cat + s → noun

• jump + ed → verb

What is morpho-syntactic evidence for word class?

It examines whether a word can take grammatical inflections.

Examples:

• cat → cats → noun plural

• jump → jumped → verb past tense

• walk → walks → verb present 3rd-person singular

What is syntactic evidence for word class?

It examines where a word occurs and what other words it can combine with.

For example:

• I walk quickly every day. → walk is a verb.

• My favourite walk is long. → walk is a noun.

Why can a word's meaning alone not reliably identify its word class?

Because English allows grammatical conversion, meaning the same form can belong to different word classes depending on how it is used.

Example:

• I walk every day. → walk = verb

• My favourite walk is long. → walk = noun

Therefore, distribution and structure are more reliable than meaning alone.

What is a suppletive form?

an irregular form where the different forms of a word are not obviously related in their phonological form.

The verb be is the classic example:

• be

• been

• am

• is

• are

• was

• were

 What is central vs peripheral class membership?

Word categories have:

• Central/core members — strongly exhibit the typical properties of the category.

• Peripheral members — have some properties of the category but do not fit all typical patterns.

What makes a word a central member of a word class?

Central membership involves:

• High frequency of use.

• Typical semantic properties.

• Typical morphological properties.

• Typical syntactic properties.

• Ability to fit standard grammatical positions.

• Often regular/irregular inflection appropriate to the category.

What are the three main structural criteria for classifying a word?

1. Alternative forms

2. Distribution in sentences

3. Word stress

What are alternative forms?

different grammatical forms of a word, usually created through inflection.

Nouns:

• cat → cats → cat's

• child → children

• goose → geese

• sheep → sheep

Verbs:

• close → closes → closed → closing

• write → writes → wrote → writing → written

What is word stress?

Word stress is the emphasis placed on a particular syllable.

English is a stress-timed language, meaning rhythm depends partly on stressed syllables.

Stress can sometimes distinguish word class:

• 'export → noun

• ex'port → verb

What is the substitution test?

identifies the grammatical category of a word by replacing it with another word whose category is known.

Example:

I walk every day.

• I learn every day. → works → verb

• *I sad every day. → adjective doesn't work

• *I ice cream every day. → noun doesn't work

Therefore walk = verb.

 

What is a noun?

 a word that labels or names a thing, including:

• people

• places

• objects

• ideas

• qualities

• concepts

Nouns are generally the largest lexical word class.

What is derivation?

the process of creating a new word from an existing word.

Examples:

Affixation

• act (V) → action (N)

• mad (Adj) → madness (N)

Conversion

• green (Adj) → green (N), e.g. the green in golf

What is nominalisation

The process of turning another word/class, particularly a verb, into something functioning as a noun

• run → running

What is a gerund

A gerund is an -ing form derived from a verb that functions like a noun.

Example:

• Running quickly is tiring.

It behaves like a noun:

• Some running is good.

But retains verb properties:

• Running quickly...

An ordinary noun cannot normally be modified by an adverb:

• *the quickly meat

Why are gerunds grammatical hybrids?

Gerunds have both:

Noun-like properties

• occupy noun positions

• can function as subjects/objects

Verb-like properties

• can take adverbial modification

• retain some verbal characteristics

What is a nominal?

any word, phrase, or clause that functions in a noun-like way in a sentence.

Examples:

• Nominal adjective: the elderly

• Gerund/deverbative noun: skating

• Nominal clause: what you are thinking

What is a nominalised adjective?

An adjective can function as a noun-like expression, often referring to a collective group.

Examples:

• The elderly deserve care.

• Only the good die young.

What is a nominalised clause?

A clause can occupy a position normally occupied by a noun.

Example:

• [Walking the dog] is good for your health.

The whole clause functions as the subject.

It can often be substituted with a pronoun:

• It is good for your health.

What are count nouns?

can be counted and have singular/plural forms.

Examples:

• cat → cats

• fan → fans

• ox → oxen

• mouse → mice

• sheep → sheep

Only count nouns can normally occur with the indefinite article a/an:

• a cat

• *a cats

What are non-count/mass nouns?

do not normally have plural forms and cannot directly occur with numbers or a/an.

Examples:

• water

• sugar

• furniture

• coffee

• fun

Incorrect:

• *a furniture

• *five dusts

• *a fun

How are mass nouns quantified?

quantified using expressions indicating amount or units.

Examples:

• some furniture

• five pieces of furniture

• a cup of tea

What is ellipsis in relation to mass nouns?

the omission of words that are understood from context.

Example:

• I had two coffees and three sugars.

This can be understood as:

• two cups of coffee

• three spoons of sugar

Can a noun be both count and mass?

Yes. Some nouns can be used as either, with a change in reference/meaning.

Examples:

• chocolate → mass substance

• a chocolate → an individual chocolate

Other examples:

• chicken

• paper

• hair

• fish

• life

 

What are common nouns?

refer to an entire class/category.

Examples:

• aardvark

• house

• sugar

• fun

What are proper nouns?

refer to a specific, unique individual, place, organisation, etc.

Examples:

• Julia

• Auckland

• University of Auckland

They are normally capitalised.

Titles can occur before proper nouns:

• Mr Harris

• Captain Janeway

• Professor Snape

What are concrete nouns?

refer to things that have some physical/sensory existence.

Examples:

• cat

• ice cream

• unicorn

• music

• Harry Potter

A useful test is whether someone could potentially draw/represent the referent recognisably.

What are abstract nouns?

 refer to things without physical existence.

Examples:

• love

• ideas

• thoughts

• motivation

• courage

They can refer to:

• feelings

• ideals

• concepts

• actions

• qualities

What are dynamic verbs?

describe actions, events, or processes that unfold over time.

Examples:

• physical: walk, jump, go

• mental: think, consider

• processes: endure, succeed

They may be viewed as:

• completed: They ate the cake.

• ongoing: They are eating the cake.

What are stative verbs?

 describe states rather than dynamic actions.

They commonly encode:

• existence

• emotions

• perception

• attitudes

• possession/relationships

Examples:

• be

• want

• love

• dislike

• belong

Why do stative verbs usually resist the progressive?

Because they describe a state rather than an ongoing dynamic activity.

Example:

• The cat belongs to me.

• *The cat is belonging to me.

However, a progressive can sometimes create a temporary/dynamic interpretation:

• He is being silly.

• He is feeling good.

What is the minimum structure of an English clause?

A basic clause requires:

Nominal + Verb

For example:

• The cat sleeps.

Even commands that appear to contain only a verb have an implicitly understood subject:

• Go! → [you] go!

• Eat! → [you] eat!

What are the major English verb forms?

• Infinitive: (to) V

• Present/non-past: V + s for 3rd-person singular

• Past: V + ed (with irregular forms)

• Progressive participle: V + ing

• Perfect participle: V + en

What is the infinitive?

The infinitive is the tenseless form of the verb.

Examples:

• to eat

• to run

• to study

It does not itself mark tense.

How does English express future meaning?

English uses constructions such as:

1. will + infinitive

   • He will play.

2. Non-past + future time adverbial

   • The game starts at 3 pm.

3. Periphrastic construction

   • He is going to play.

What are time adverbials?

provide information about when an event occurs.

Example:

• I put it there. → ambiguous time

• I put it there yesterday. → clearly past

• I put it there every day. → habitual/present interpretation