LI 2013 NATHALIE F. MARTIN L EXICAL C ATEGORIES

CATEGORIES OF WORDS DISTINGUISHING CATEGORIES: INFLECTION DISTRIBUTION REPLACEMENT Syntactic/Lexical Categories Contemporary Linguistics Analysis, O’Grady & al., 2009: p A Concise Introduction to Linguistics, Rowe & al : p

Making Sense of It All! What is the lexical category of: a)Brillig b)Slithy c)Toves* d)Gyre* e)Gimble* f)Wabe* g)Mimsy h)Borogroves i)Mome j)Raths k)Outgrabe Which are English words? Why is it important that those words remain there? Lewis CarrollLewis Carroll in his 1872 novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, a poem entitled Jabberwocky.Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

Syntactic/lexical Categories = Word/Grammatical Classes = Parts of Speech All languages have syntactic categories. The syntactic category of a word determines the role it can play in a sentence. Only a noun can complete the sentence “Give a __________ to me.”

Syntactic Categories (1) Noun (N) Pronoun (Pro) Verb (V) Adjective (A) Preposition (P) Adverb (Adv) Examples moisture, thought Me, I, they, these melt, remain good, intelligent to, near slowly, now

Syntactic Categories (2)  Determiner (Det)  Auxiliary (Aux)  Conjunction (Con)  Degree word (Deg) (formerly part of Adv) Examples:  the, this  will, can  and, or, because  very, too

THE FUNCTION OF AN ADJECTIVE IS TO MODIFY A NOUN Adjectives

Proper adjectives: American French Baptist Appearance Adjectives Adorable clean drab elegant Color Adjectives red orange yello w Condition Adjectives better careful cl ever wrong. Feelings (Bad) Adjectives Angry embarrass ed grumpy worri ed

Adjectives Feelings (Good) Adjectives agreeable brave calm delightful obedient Shape Adjectives broad chubby cr ooked Size Adjectives big colossal pun y Sound Adjectives cooing deafening faint hissing lo ud Time Adjectives ancient brief Taste/Touch Adjectives bitter delicious f resh yummy

Adjectives Touch Adjectives Boiling chilly cold cool Quantity Adjectives abundant empty few full heavy light many numero us sparse substantial

THE FUNCTION OF THE DEGREE WORD IS TO MODIFY THE ADJECTIVE DEGREE WORDS

Degree words Qualifies an adjective

THE FUNCTION OF THE DETERMINER IS TO INTRODUCE THE NOUN. IT ALSO, IN A SENSE, NARROWS THE MEANING OF THE NOUN DETERMINERS

Determiners A word or a group of words that introduces a noun. Determiners include :  Articles (the, a, an)  Demonstratives (these, those, this, that … but only when introducing a noun!)  Quantifiers (Many, one, two, Few, etc.)  Possessive determiners (my, your, his, her … but only when introducing a noun!)

THE FUNCTION OF A PRONOUN IS TO REPLACE A NOUN (PHRASE) PRONOUNS

Pronouns The function of a pronoun is to replace a noun (phrase)  I, you, he, she, they  Mine, ours, yours …  It, these*, those*  Myself, yourself, itself …  All, another, everybody, anything  Who, whom

Pronouns Let’s take the example of the noun phrase “The boy”  Third person singular masculine …  As the subject of the sentence = He (ex: He danced)  As the object of the sentence = Him (I like him)  Answers the questions “who?”, “whom?” or “what?”  Not to be confused with “his” (which is 3 rd person sing. Masc, but does not necessarily replace a noun phrase)

Pronouns + Possessive Let’s take the example of the noun phrase “The boy’s”  Third person singular masculine + possessive …  As object + possessive = I like his.  Less ambiguity with feminine = I like hers. Not to be confused with the determiner “his” (which is 3 rd person sing. Masc. + possessive, but does not replace a noun phrase) Ex: I like his shoes

DETERMINER or PRONOUN?

Determiner or Pronoun? The essential question to be asked is “what is the function of this word within the sentence?”  Determiner = introduces a noun  Pronoun = replaces a noun Examples:  I like his.  His shoes are gross.  I think I will get these.  I will buy these 4 inch metallic pumps.

THE FUNCTION OF A PREPOSITION IS TO INTRODUCE A NOUN PHRASE (NP) IN A PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE (PP) PREPOSITIONS

Prepositions Prepositions are the words that indicate location. Usually, prepositions show this location in the physical world. Check out the three examples below: The puppy is on the floor. The puppy is beside the phone. The puppy is in the trash can. © by Robin L. Simmons

Prepositions Prepositions generally introduce prepositional phrase (PP).  Prepositional Phrases (PP) usually look like this:  Preposition + NP (noun or pronoun) At school: At = preposition; school = noun (NP). According to us: According to = preposition; us = pronoun (also a NP). Under the stove: Under = preposition; the stove = noun phrase. © by Robin L. Simmons

Prepositions about above according to across after against along along with among apart from around as as for at because of before behind below beneath beside between Beyond by by means of concerning despite down during except except for excepting for from in in addition to in back of in case of in front of in place of © by Robin L. Simmons

Prepositions inside in spite of instead of into like near next of off ononto on top of out out of outside over past regarding round since through throughout till to toward under underneath unlike until up upon up to with within without © by Robin L. Simmons

THE FUNCTION OF AN ADVERB IS TO MODIFY THE VERB. ADVERB

Adverb Adverbs of manner describe how something happens. Ex: carefully, patiently, well … Adverbs of place describe where something happens. Ex: abroad, anywhere, in, out, upstairs. Adverbs of purpose describe why something happens. Ex: so that, to, because, since Adverbs of frequency describe how often something happens. Ex: always, often, seldom … Adverbs of time describe when something happens. Ex: after, already, later, now, soon, recently yesterday.

Adverb abnormally absentmindedly Accidentally afterwards almost always Angrily anxiously arrogantly Awkwardly badly bashfully beautifully Bitterly briefly brightly briskly broadly Busily calmly carefully carelessly cheerfully Clearly daily Daintily delightfully diligently Dreamily elegantly especially even evenly eventually exactly excitedly far fast Less* More* Never Not often Only Too Upright

THE FUNCTION OF AN ADVERB IS TO MODIFY THE VERB. ADVERB or PREPOSITION?

Adverb or Preposition? Words that are sometimes prepositions can act as adverbs. A preposition requires an object. An adverb does not.prepositions A single word acting as an adverb answers where, when, how or to what degree about the verb. When the same word is a preposition, the entire prepositional phrase acts as an adverb modifying the verb.

Adverb or Preposition? If you want to see the eclipse, you will need to go outside.  OUTSIDE tells you where YOU WILL NEED TO GO.  NOTE: Without an object OUTSIDE is an ____________ Dorothy colors outside the lines.  OUTSIDE THE LINES is an adverbial phrase and OUTSIDE is a preposition.  NOTE: LINES is the object of the ______________.

Adverb or Preposition? To determine whether a word is an adverb or a preposition, look at what follows the word. Is there a noun acting as an object of the word? In other words, is there a word that answers the question WHAT? about the word. It will be some time before his schedule settles down.  DOWN tells the reader WHERE the schedule settles. There is no object following it.

Adverb or Preposition? Please sit down and listen. DOWN tells the listener WHERE to SIT.  There is no object telling him or her WHAT to SIT DOWN. One need only look down the roster to see the impact of so much travel.  ROSTER answers the question WHAT? about the word DOWN.  ROSTER is the object of the preposition DOWN.

THE FUNCTION OF THE AUXILIARY IS TO HELP THE MAIN VERB AUXILIARY

AUXILIARY VERBS A verb (such as have, do, or will) that determines the mood, tense, or aspect of another verb in a verb phrase.verbmood tenseaspectverb phrase Auxiliary verbs always precede main verbs within a verb phrase. Auxiliaries are also known as helping verbs. main verbshelping verbs

AUXILIARY VERBS "The auxiliary verbs of English are the following:  can, may, will, shall, must, ought, need, dare  be, have, do, use

AUXILIARIES VERBS (examples) be 2 He is sleeping. be 3 They were seen. can 1 I can swim. can 2 Such things can help. could 1 I could swim. could 2 That could help. do You did not understand. have They have understood. may 1 May I stay? may 2 That may take place. mightWe might give it a try. must 1 You must not mock me. must 2 It must have rained. shallYou shall not pass. should 1 You should listen. should 2 That should help. willWe will eat pie. would Nothing would accomplish that

ADVERB or AUXILIARY?

Adverb or Auxiliary? An adverb describes a verb; e.g. He ran quickly (quickly describing ran). An auxiliary verb (or helping verb) is a verb, just not the main one; is a verb functioning to give further semantic or syntactic information about the main or full verb following it. (Grammar and Composition by Prentice Hall)

Adverb or Auxiliary? Adverb: He ran quickly (quickly describing ran). Auxiliary verb: He had run (had is a verb, but he didn't "have", he ran) or She is going (she isn't "being" (in the sense of it being the verb), she is going). "We are all worms, but I do believe I am a glowworm.“ (Winston Churchill)

Dictionary of Choice for Lexical Categories m-w.com -Be careful of: -Det (not adj) -Degree

1. According to meaning 2. Inflection 3. Distribution 4. Replacement TRICKS To Distinguish Categories

According to the Meaning  Nouns = entities (people, things), including individuals (Harry, Sue), objects (book, desk)  Verbs = actions (run, jump), sensations (feel, hurt), and states (be, remain)  Adjectives: Properties and attributes of a noun.  Adverbs:  Properties and attributes of the actions, sensations, and states (verbs)  Manner and time  What about words like: likelihood, give a push, near

Distinguishing Categories Native speakers may have a good intuition about the syntactic category of a word. But linguists require more objective ways of determining syntactic categories. There are three tests one can use: 1. Inflection 2. Distribution 3. Verification through replacement

Test 1: Inflection Certain inflectional paradigms apply only to one syntactic category. For example, if a word can take the inflectional suffix -ed in English, it must belong to the verb category.

English Inflectional Morphemes Nouns –s plural –’spossessive Verbs –sthird person singular present –edpast tense –en past participle –ingprogressive Adjectives –ercomparative –estsuperlative Rowe & Levine, p

Test 1: Inflection  Lets try in out:  The cute cat dances.  You think the end is near.  What about these words: sing (-ed*), intelligent (-er*), knowledge(-s*), etc.

Test 2: Distribution The words with which a word may co- occur can be used to determine its syntactic category. Example: only nouns can come after a or the in English. All languages have such distributional restrictions on syntactic categories.

Test 2: Distribution  Lets try in out:  Great joy is to come in the morning.  Joy comes later today.  Holidays are the best!

Distribution tests – Rules of other languages Distribution tests for syntactic categories are different in all languages. Chinese has no articles like a, the. So you can’t test for nouns with them. But in Chinese, only nouns co-occur with “classifiers”. If a word can come after a classifier, it must be a noun.

Verification Test 3: Replacement To test to see if you have assigned the right lexical category, it is possible to replace the word with another word of that same category – even if the sentence becomes nonsensical.

Verification Test 3: Replacement  Lets try in out:  Great joy is to come in the morning.  Joy comes later today.  Holidays are the best!

WHAT GOT LOST IN TRANSLATION? WRITTEN ON MY HEATER: Translation and Lexical Categories