CHAPTER 12
PARTS OF SPEECH:
FORM CLASSES
by: Đặng Đình Toàn
A. NOUNS
• Identified as nouns by 2 aspects of form: inflectional morphemes
and derivational morphemes
• Inflectional morphemes: noun plural {-s pl} and noun possessive
{-s ps}
• And if it does not have the {-s pl} but can take it in the same
positions, sometimes with a readjustment of context to allow for
a plural form, it is a noun. Thus in
The author seems tired,
author is a noun because it can be changed to the plural in the
same position, with, the readjustment of seems to its plural form
seem:
The authors seem tired
• But in this sentence:
Her brother may author a new biography
author here is not a noun so it can’t be made plural
• Nouns are also some words that have only a plural form such as clothes,
goods, vitals, glasses, oats, pants, pliers, scissors, and thanks.
• Nouns are identified by derivational suffixes added to V, Adj, N, Adv, and
bound forms.
Ex: The quality is pure.
The quality is purity.
purity, -ity Noun
Source Verb2 Derived N Source Adj Derived N
arrive arrival kind kindness
complain complaint brave bravery
deform deformation important importance
Source N Derived N
Asia Asian
coward cowardice
murder murderess
These same noun-forming suffixes are sometimes attached to bound
stems, as in dentist and tailor.
B. VERBS
Verbs have a maximum of 5 different forms.
Stem Present Present Past Tense Past
Third-Person Participle Participle
Singular
rise rises rising rose risen
• Word with 3 or more of these forms form class verb.
Ex: cut – cut, cuts, cutting
cut does triple duty (stem or present tense, past tense, past
participle)
break – break, breaks, breaking, broke, broken
depart – depart, departs, departing, departed
• Verbs identified by derivation suffixes:
bath bathe ripe ripen
beauty beautify safe save
colony colonize solidsolidify
• These verb-forming suffixes are
occasionally combined with bound stems,
as in sanctify
C. ADJECTIVES
• -er and –est inflectional suffixes”comparables”
• But they cannot be separated into adjectives and
adverbs
• A word that is inflected with –er and –est and that is
capable of forming adverbs with –ly and/or nouns with
–ness is called an adjective.
• Adjectives can also be identified by derivational suffixes alone.
• Degres of comparsion are expressed by more and most rather
than by -er and –est.
Adjective-forming suffixes:
Source N Derived Adj Source V Derived Adj Source Adj Derived Adj
age aged collect collective dead deadly
culture cultural exist existent red reddish
fortune fortunate prosper prosperous
science scientific read readable
picture picturesque shake shaky
These adjective-forming suffixes and others are frequently added to
bound forms:
pens- +ive > pensive
cred- +ible > credible
loc- +al > local
splend- +id > splendid
frag- +gile > fragile
cert- +tain > certain
domest- +ic > domestic
curi- +ous > curious
terri- +fic > terrfic
D. ADVERBS
The adverb has 4 suffix: derivational suffixes like –ly, -
wise, -ward, -s and free from like.
Source Adj Derived Adv Source N Derived Adv
fortunate fortunately clock clockwise
Although the use of –wise to mean “in the manner or direction
of” is established, its “vaguer” usage is to mean “with
reference to” hasn’t achieve the same level of respectability.
Source N Derived Adv
north northward
Noun + -ward both Adj and adv
1. A population movement cityward has been
observed.
(adjective position)
2. He looked cityward for a sign of the train.
(adverb position)
Source N Derived Adv
night nights
Indicating a time period, such as
He works days.
They go to the cinema Sundays.
Source N Derived Adv
student studentlike
Source Adj Derived Adv
casual casual-like
like must be used selectively
There remains a number of words that do not have (or do not
allow) an inflectional or derivational suffix that can be used to
classify them as N, V, Adj, or Adv = “nonsuffixing forms”:
1. Words traditionally called N:
pathos, advice, tennis, evidence, botany, charisma
2. Words traditionally called Adv:
often, seldom, also, never, perhaps
3. Traditionally called Adj:
antic, menial, only
4. Most words in structure classes:
the, must, quite, from, and, since, which, all.
The end
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