LANE 333

1. LANE 333 -
MORPHOLOGY
2012 – Term 1
Parts of speech:
Form-Classes 12
By: http://SBANJAR.kau.edu.sa/
Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar http://wwwdrshadiabanjar.blogspot.com
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 1 11/17/2011

2. PARTS OF SPEECH
• Parts of speech are labels for
categories in which words are usually
placed.
• Words can be categorized according to
how they work within phrases, clauses
or sentences.
• Traditionally, they are known as parts
of speech. In modern linguistics, they
are known as word classes.
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 2 11/17/2011

3. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
• Early in the 1540, the Latin grammar
written in English by William Lyly was
published in 1540.
• eight parts of speech was introduced:
nouns adverbs
pronouns Conjunctions
Verbs Prepositions
participles interjections
DECLINED UNDECLINED
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 3 11/17/2011

4. cont.,
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
• In1640, Ben Jonson introduced: English
Grammar.
•Jonson followed the Latin Parts of speech.
• by the 1760s, the participles had been
dropped.
•Lowth chose these parts of speech:
nouns, adjectives, pronouns, verbs,
adverbs, prepositions, and interjections.
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 4 11/17/2011

5. cont.,
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
• In 1795, Murray’s English Grammar
was introduced.
• Murray adopted the eight parts of
speech of Lowth, to which he added the
articles.
•These parts of speech are: articles,
nouns, adjectives, pronouns, verbs,
adverbs, prepositions, and
interjections.
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 5 11/17/2011

6. cont., HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
•Traditional English grammars assign
class membership following Latin-derived
definitions of parts of speech.
• several problems are raised as the
definitions of the traditional parts of
speech are based on two different
criteria.
•The definitions of nouns and verbs are
based on meaning while the rest are
based on function.
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 6 11/17/2011

7. cont.,
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Example:
1. ‘a red shirt’: The word red is the
name of a colour and hence is a
noun, but it modifies the noun shirt
and hence is an adjective.
• Therefore: we have to set up a
more elaborate yet workable set of
word classes: formal classes and
functional/structural classes.
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 7 11/17/2011

8. Parts of speech
Parts of speech may be classified into three
groups:
1-The form-classes: These are: nouns, verbs,
adjectives, adverbs. The term form-class is used
because membership in a class is determined by
the form of a word.
2-The positional-classes: There are four main
positional classes: nominal, verbal, adjectival, and
adverbial. Membership in these classes is
determined by position or word order.
3-The structure-classes: such as prepositions
and auxiliaries. The structure classes are small,
stable, and closed.
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 8 11/17/2011

9. Form Classes
•The inflectional or derivational morphology
determines the membership of words to parts of
speech or form classes:
1. nouns
2. Verbs
3. adjectives
4. adverbs
• Form classes are large and open as they readily
admit new members, e.g. workaholic, minibus.
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 9 11/17/2011

10. A. Nouns
Nouns are identified as nouns by two aspects
of form:
1. inflectional morphemes, and
2. derivational morphemes.
• The inflectional morphemes are:
A- the noun plural {-s pl} ,and
B- the noun possessive {-s ps}.
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 10 11/17/2011

11. cont.,
Nouns
e.g. The author seems tired
•‘author’ is a noun because it can be
change to the plural in the same position,
with the readjustment of seems to the
plural form seem:
The authors seem tired.
• But in the sentence:
Her brother may author a new biography.
•‘author’ cannot be made plural and
hence is not a noun.
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 11 11/17/2011

12. cont., Nouns
• Nouns may have only a plural form, e.g. clothes,
goods, pants, oats, scissors, glasses.
• Nouns are also identified by certain derivational
suffixes, e.g. The -ity suffix added to an adjective
as in the noun ‘purity’.
•Although the use of inflectional suffixes is a
practical tool for noun identification, derivational
suffixes cannot be neglected.
•Some words are never inflected: e.g. drainage,
manhood, nourishment.
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 12 11/17/2011

13. B.Verbs
• Verbs have five different inflectional forms:
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
stem present third present Past Tense Past Participle
person singular participle
rise rises rising rose risen
•Any word that has three or more of these
inflectional forms is said to belong to the form-
class called the verb .For example, cut has the
minimum of three forms: cut, cuts, cutting.
•Derivational suffixes that help identify verbs
are few; e.g. solidify, strengthen, colonize.
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 13 11/17/2011

14. C. Adjectives
• 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.
• We can usually identify adjectives
by derivational suffixes alone; e.g.
cultural, readable, reddish.
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 14 11/17/2011

15. D. Adverbs
• The adverb has four suffixes:
the derivational suffixes –ly, -wise, -ward,
and –s .
the free form like.
• Words consisting of: a source noun+-ward
are at home in the positions of both
adjectives and adverbs, as in:
1-The earthward drop of the parachutist was
spectacular. ( adjective position).
2-As she stepped out the plane door and
parachuted earthward. (adverb position).
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 15 11/17/2011

16. NOTICE
• There are a few words that do not allow or do not
have inflectional or derivational suffixes to be used
with them. These words are referred to as
‘nonsuffixing forms’ or ‘uninflected words’.
Examples:
1. Words traditionally called nouns e.g. tennis
2. Words traditionally called adverbs e.g. never
3. Words traditionally called adjectives e.g. only
4. Most words in structure classes e.g. the, must,
from, and.
Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 16 11/17/2011

17. Dr. Shadia Yousef Banjar 17 11/17/2011