Parts of Speech

Parts of Speech Certain types of words fall into categories called parts of speech which share common behaviours such as affixes or word orders. For instance, only nouns can take the derivational suffix –ment and only verbs can take inflection {present tense}. Prepositions can’t take inflectional suffixes and they can only go before nouns, not after them. In general, certain parts of speech are either form-class words or structure-class words. When we identify the part of speech of a word by its morphological make up (base and/or affixes), we are identifying it by its form. When we identify the part of speech by its relation to other words, we are identifying it by its function. Hence, to use the examples just mentioned, we can prove that the word government is a noun both because it contains the suffix –ment, which is normally associated with nouns and because it occurs in the sequence the government, rather than the other way around. For every part of speech there are both “formal” test (that is tests of form) and “functional tests” that can be used to identify whether or not a word belongs to that particular part of speech. Unfortunately, not all tests work for all words. For instance, dog is a noun, but you cannot identify it as such by looking at its derivational affixes since it doesn’t have any. Other times, the same test will reveal different parts of speech. For instance, the inflection {-er comparative} primarily occurs with adjectives, but it also occurs with adverbs. The suffix {-ly} can also occur on adjectives and adverbs. So is a word like friendlier an adjective or an adverb? One way to solve this sort of problem is to accept the possibility of prototypical and peripheral cases. A word which passes all the tests for a noun is a prototypical noun and a word which passes only most of the tests is a peripheral noun. A word which passes a minority of the tests probably should not be classified as a noun. Many dictionaries list the parts of speech of words, and their editors have applied these tests. Sometimes dictionaries will list two parts of speech for a single word (talk, for instance, will be listed as both a noun and verb). In such cases, the word very often can undergo something called functional shift. This is when a word changes the part of speech it functions as, depending upon its place in the sentence. For instance, I gave a talk yesterday has a noun, but I talk in a loud voice has a verb. It is useful to know how to identify the part of speech of a word in isolation, since this helps with identifying their functions. But to analyse the grammar of a sentence it is essential to be able to identify the part of speech a word is functioning as in that sentence. Tests for Nouns Formal tests for nouns are of two types: (a) whether the word has a derivational morpheme associated with nouns and (b) whether the word can take inflectional morphemes associated with nouns. Words like government have the derivational suffix –ment, which is also found on other nouns like abatement, statement, etc. To identify a derivational morpheme as associated with nouns you need to be able to think of a number of other nouns which have with same morpheme. Some students have trouble doing this, as it requires them to know in advance that the words they think of are nouns. You can go to the dictionary to double check this, but, in the end, you need to categorise these morphemes in your memory in order for this test to be consistently effective. Most nouns can take the two types of inflections associated with nouns: {-s pl} and {-s poss}. For instance, the word government can become governments or government’s. If you are faced with a word like seasoning, try adding these inflections. If you can, the word passes the noun test. However, not all nouns will pass this test. For instance, the word electricity cannot generally be made plural. It belongs to a subclass of nouns that we think of as not being countable. Nouns belonging to this subclass are called noncount nouns or mass nouns. Some nouns can be both count nouns and noncount nouns depending upon the context. For instance, the word bread appears to be a count noun since it can be pluralised (A lot of breads taste like sponges). But it can also function as a noncount noun in They brought a lot of bread to the picnic. Functional tests for nouns involve testing where the word can occur in a sentence. Nouns can generally occur as grammatical unit with the articles a/an or the. So if you can say a government or the government, you may well have a noun. The major exception is the subclass of nouns called proper nouns. Proper nouns are the names of specific places, persons, or events (like Norway, John, or Christmas). Most proper nouns cannot be preceded by an article (or be pluralised), although some can: the Alps, the Hundred Years War, the Norway of a hundred years ago, etc. Nouns that are not proper nouns are called common nouns. Proper nouns are capitalised in English, but this is merely convention. In German, all nouns, including common nouns, are capitalised. Nouns can also be described by adjectives, so another technique is to insert the word being tested into a sentence where an adjective describes a noun. Your test sentence is called a frame sentence. Here is an example of a frame sentence for nouns: (The)__________seem(s) all right. For proper nouns and some abstract nouns like diligence, you will need to omit the “The”, which is why it is in parentheses. Likewise, plural nouns will need the verb seem, rather than seems. You may also find that the adjective all right does not make sense because the meaning of the word you are testing cannot be described as “all right”. If you can substitute another adjective that makes more sense, the word still passes the noun test. Tests for Verbs Formal tests for verbs are similar to those for nouns. Some derivational morphemes occur only on verbs, such as –ize. Also, if the word being tested can take one of the inflections associated with verbs ({-s present tense}, {-ed past tense}, {-ing present participle}, {-d past participle}), chances are that you have a verb. There are three functional tests that you can use to identify verbs. First, you can try making the word into a command. For instance, the word work can be made into the command Work hard! Verbs can also be made negative using the word not (often in combination with do): They do not work hard. Finally, you can use a frame sentence that places the word in a position where verbs commonly occur. Because there are multiple subclasses of verbs, two frame sentences—both of which must be tried—are needed to test a potential verb: They must_________(it). They must_________good. The different verb subclasses will be addressed later in the course. Tests for Adjectives Adjectives perform a function called modification; that is, they are modifiers of other parts of speech. For instance, the noun dog encompasses dogs of many different types, and we can be more specific about the type of dog by modifying it with an adjective: big dog, brown dog, yappy dog, etc. Formal tests for adjectives consist of identifying derivational morphemes associated with adjectives (e.g. –able, -ish, -y, etc.) and whether the word can take the inflections associated with adjectives ({-er comparative} and {-est superlative}). Some adjectives (e.g. profitable) cannot take inflections but can still be treated as comparative or superlative by preceding them with more or most. If a word fails the formal test of taking an adjectival inflection, it may pass this functional test of word order. Another functional test is that adjectives can be preceded by structure class words called qualifiers or intensifiers: words like very, rather, quite, etc. Finally, a frame sentence may be used. For adjectives, the word being tested must be insertable into both blanks. The__________man is very__________. Tests for Adverbs Whereas adjectives are modifiers of nouns, adverbs are modifiers of verbs. Formal tests for adverbs include the presence of derivational morphemes associated with adverbs (e.g. {-ly, -wise, -ward) and whether or not the word being tested can take the comparative or superlative inflections. Note that these inflections are normally associated with adjectives, and the fact that adverbs can also take them shows how they, like adjectives, are modifiers. As with adjectives, some adverbs (like suddenly) can be made comparative or superlative using more or most. If the word fails the formal test using inflections, try the functional test using more or most. Another functional test is that adverbs can take qualifiers or intensifiers. One way in which adverbs differ from adjectives, is that they can often be moved within a sentence: The door opened suddenly. The door suddenly opened. Suddenly, the door opened. You can also use a frame sentence like: The man told his story___________. or The woman walked her dog_________. Form and Function It is valuable to be able to identify the part of speech of a word in isolation, but more important to be able to identify its function in a sentence. For instance, if you examine the word run, you will find that it passes the tests for both nouns and verbs. Most of the time, you will not be faced with having to decide whether the word in isolation is a noun or a verb. More often, you will have a sentence, and you will have to decide how the word function in that particular sentence. Compare the following sentences: He had two runs yesterday. This car runs well. The word runs functions as a noun in the first sentence and as a verb in the second. Words functioning as nouns are said to have nominal function, words functioning as verbs are said to have verbal function, words functioning as adjectives are said to have adjectival function, and words functioning as adverbs are said to have adverbial function. Many words that pass the formal tests for one part of speech can function as another. For instance, the word home passes the formal tests for a noun (homes, the home’s upkeep), but it can function adverbially (I’m going home). It can also function adjectivally (home furnishings). In such cases, the word is said to undergo functional shift. The best way to identify the function of a word is to substitute it with a prototypical word, that is, a word which you know already is a noun, verb, adjective, etc. For instance, if you know that the word happily is an adverb, you can substitute it in the sentence I’m going home to get I’m going happily. The sentence works, so home is functioning adverbially in the sentence here. If you know that old is an adjective, you can substitute it for home in home furnishings. The result, old furnishings, suggests that home is functioning adjectivally. There are many different kinds of functional shift, but one common one is the use of the past participle form of a verb with a nominal function. Compare the following sentences: I am going home now. Going home early is a luxury. In the first sentence, the word going is functioning verbally; in the second it is functioning nominally. Past participle forms of verbs which function nominally are called gerunds.