Lexicology Flashcards
Word classes
- Nouns
- Verbs
- Adjectives
- Adverbs
- Prepositions
- Conjunctions
- Determiners
- Interjections
Lexicology
- Word classes
- Function + content words
- Word formation processes
- Lexical patterning
Nouns
Name people, places, things, qualities, or actions.
- Common nouns
- Proper nouns
- Collective nouns
- Plural nouns (regular/irregular)
Verbs
Denote actions, processes, or states.
- Regular/irregular
Regular + irregular verbs
- Regular - form past tense by adding suffix ‘ed’.
- Irregular - form past tense in variety of ways.
Auxiliary verbs
Modify + change some aspect of the main verb.
- Primary aux verbs = ‘to be’, ‘to have’, ‘to do’, + modal verbs (can also be main verbs).
Modal verbs
Carry information to do with notions such as ability, permission, likelihood, + obligation.
- Can, could, shall, should, will, would, may, might, must.
Adjectives
Define/modify nouns, located in front of nouns or behind verbs (eg. ‘seems tired’).
Adverbs
Modify verbs, adjectives, + other adverbs (many formed by adding ‘ly’).
Types of adverbs
- Time - soon, later
- Frequency - always, occasionally, never
- Manner - torrentially, slowly, unconvincingly
- Place - around, everywhere, here, there
- Degree - completely, somewhat, totally, very.
Prepositions
Show relationship between nouns/pronouns + other words in a sentence.
Types of prepositions
- Space - where is the dog? UNDER the table, BEHIND the chair.
- Time - when will we go? AFTER breakfast, BEFORE dinner.
- Manner - how did you do that? WITH paint, BY manipulating.
Conjunctions
Words that connect other words or larger elements of a sentence.
- Coordinating + subordinating.
Coordinating conjunctions
Link words, clauses, + phrases together/join things in equal value (FANBOYS).
Subordinating conjunctions
Only join clauses together (introduce subordinate clauses + link subordinate clause to main clause).
Determiners
Introduce noun phrase + function as modifiers (eg. ‘that’ book is worth reading, modifying the noun ‘book’).
Interjections
Words/phrases that express a sudden or strong emotion (includes swear words, greetings, signalling words, etc).
Function words
Exist to perform a job/commonly to convey grammatical relationships (includes determiners, aux verbs, modal verbs, prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions, interjections).
Content words
Carry real-world meaning/provide content (includes nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs).
Word formation processes
- Neologism
- Borrowings
- Commonisation
- Nominalisation
Neologism
A completely new word
Borrowings
Borrowing words from other languages + incorporating into own lexicon.
Commonisation
Development of proper nouns into common everyday words (eg. ‘esky’, ‘thermos’).
Nominalisation
A verb or adjective that functions as a noun (eg. ‘interference’ is a nominalisation of ‘interfere’).
Lexical patterning
Repeated presence of a word + it’s various forms.
- Simple + complex
Simple lexical patterning
Repetition of a word in it’s identical form or with very simple changes (eg. ‘sing’ 1st person + ‘sings’ 3rd person, ‘horse’ 1st p + ‘horses’ 3 p).
Complex lexical patterning
Involves words + any form of them created through affixation (eg. presence of ‘category’, ‘categorise’, + ‘categorical’ within a text).
