Morphology: Parts of Speech & Conversion by Eliška Ramsová

Parts of speech

eliskaramsova — 2024-03-02 14:58:55 UTC

Specific grammatical categories that describe the syntactic function of words within a sentence
Subset of world classes
Based on notional criteria (What sort of concept does the word refer to?)

Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc. -> These categories help identify the role that words play in a sentence structure.

eliskaramsova — 2024-03-02 15:32:27 UTC

Refer to wider range of more precisely defined classes
Groups words based on :
- formal criteria (e.g. particles, auxiliaries)
- shared characteristics - grammatical (morphological, syntactic), semantic, phonological, morphemic properties
Word classes may include not only traditional parts of speech but also more specific categories
Noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection, article, numeral, particle (full verb, auxiliary verb, modal verb, determiner, quantifier, etc.)

eliskaramsova — 2024-03-02 16:45:25 UTC

The most important way by far that English forms new words is by deriving them from the forms currently in the language.

Inserting a

prefix usually changes the meaning but not the word class. (friendly -> unfriendly)
suffix usually changes the word class but not the basic meaning. (happy -> happiness)
Exceptions to this general rule:
1. The prefixes be- and en- make verbs as in: become, befriend, enforce, encourage etc. (not productive for new coinages=a new word or phrase in a language)
2. The prefix a- makes adjectives from nouns and verbs as in, e.g., asleep, afoot, aground etc.
3. The suffixes -less and -ful affect the meaning rather than the word class -> gradable adjective antonym pairs such as hopeful-hopeless.
  ! Not a consistent arrangement bc - helpful and helpless are not antonyms and there are no equivalent antonyms for friendless, boastful and many other adjectives (friendful and boastless do not exist).

eliskaramsova — 2024-03-02 17:20:17 UTC

eliskaramsova — 2024-03-02 17:39:48 UTC

I doubt he is right → I have a doubt

She smiled at me → She replied with a smile

My grandparents want to build new house. -> Many of these houses are in want of repair.

Will you catch me if I fall? -> Many leaves with different colors lay on the pavements in fall.

My younger niece swam across the pool. -> We went for a morning swim in the sea.

eliskaramsova — 2024-03-02 17:39:58 UTC

The most common form of conversion in English is the process of verbification
It has happened through most of the history of the language and continues to be active
Around 20% of all verbs in English are conversions from nouns

I looked it up on Google → I googled it

My grandma loves plants -> She planted the seed of a rose into the ground.

Something got caught in my eye -> She eyed them

Put it in a bottle -> Bottle it

The butter is in the fridge -> He buttered the bread

eliskaramsova — 2024-03-03 19:00:08 UTC

Don't make it dirty -> Don't dirty it

It will be dry soon → It will dry soon

The book is on the lower shelf -> We need to lower the volume.

The calm wind played with our hair -> The rainstorm calmed down

eliskaramsova — 2024-03-03 19:14:57 UTC

An adjective such as green may be used to refer to part of golf course and the colour of a team's playing strip may be used with reference to the team itself (the reds, the blues etc.)
The example of the young (He's a young man → My mum mixes with the young) is another case of what are known as nominal adjectives (adjectives that function as a noun in a sentence) and that is called partial conversion:
    the rich
    the mysterious
    the inevitable
the latter
Full conversion:
Arugula has a slightly bitter flavour . -> A pint of bitter is a type of dark brown beer with a bitter taste.
Female lions do not have manes. -> The kitten was actually a female, not a male.

eliskaramsova — 2024-03-03 21:06:28 UTC

Partial conversion:
city life - The culture of cities, urban areas
pocket money - smaller amount of money a child is given by it's parents or grandparents
street gang - a group of people, especially young people, who go around together.
The result is called a denominal adjective which is formed by conversion from a noun
Full conversion:
It's a difficult choice to make. -> A choice cut of meat is a meat of high quality.
From the top of the Empire State Building, you can see the full extent of Manhattan. -> Our apartment is on the top floor of the building.
We exchanged commonplaces about the weather over cups of tea. -> Earthquakes are a commonplace occurrence in California.

eliskaramsova — 2024-03-03 22:23:35 UTC