Weeks 4 and 5: word classes Flashcards
What are synonyms for “word classes”?
Parts of speech
Syntactic categories
Lexical categories
What does word class mean?
A group of words that behave in the same way
What are the different categories for how a word behaves?
Semantics
Morphology
Syntax
What are the major word classes in English?
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
What type of word class is pronoun?
Considered a major word class by some and minor by others.
Some consider them to be a subcategory of nouns.
What are the semantic features of nouns?
Nouns typically refer to entities.
What are the inflectional morphological features of nouns?
There is distinguishment between singular and plural.
We can add ‘s to mark possession.
What are the derivational morphological features of nouns?
Some of the most frequent noun forming suffixes are:
Verb → noun:
-ness and -ity
Adjective → noun:
-er, -ee, -ation and
-ment
What are the syntactic properties of nouns?
They typically can follow “the” and “no”.
What are some sub-classes of nouns?
Count and uncount/mass nouns
Proper and common nouns
What are the semantic features of verbs?
Typically describes an action (also processes and states).
What are the inflectional morphological features of verbs?
English verbs have up to five different inflectional forms:
1. Base form
2. -s form
3. Past tense
4. Past/passive participle
5. -ing form
What are the derivational morphological features of verbs?
Very little excluding what they can be turned into
What are the syntactic features of verbs?
Negation with “not”
They have a subject and often have an object.
What are the semantic properties of adjectives?
Used to describe the quantity or quality of something.
