SEMINAR 3.

Lecture 3. CLASSIFICATION OF WORDS. PARTS OF SPEECH.

1. Study definitions of the following terms:

parts of speech – the classification of vocabulary into groups, or classes.
Word is defined as a minimum free form.
Semantic principle of word classification - presupposes the evaluation of
the general meaning common to all the words of the given class, the kind of
reference they have. It is important to note that the general meaning of the
words belong to a given class does not coincide with their lexical or
grammatical meanings but is close to both.
Formal principle of word classification - provides for the study of all the
specific inflectional features common to all the words of the given class, i.e.
classes of words can be defined according to how the words of the various
classes take on various forms according to rules of inflections.
Functional principle of word classification - concerns the syntactic role of
the words of the given class in the sentence and their ability to combine with
other words.
Verb - is a word used for saying something about something else.
Form - is that there is some element (inflection) in a given word that
identifies it as belonging to the given class.
Notional words - are characterized by the following:
- They denote things, actions, and other extralinguistic phenomena.
- They have distinct clear-cut lexical meaning (book, good, fly, work, etc.).
- They perform various syntactic functions in the sentence.
- They represent ‘open’ classes (it is possible to create new items.).

Function (formal) words - have the following characteristics:

- They denote relations and connections between notional words.

- They have less distinct meaning.
- They do not perform any syntactic function.
- They represent ‘closed’ classes (their number is limited – 154 function
words), but they occur frequently.
- They are not used independently, i.e. without notional words (there are
no sentences consisting of function words only.
Pronouns - is a word that replaces a noun in a sentence.
Structural words - pronouns belong to a special type of words; are
intermediate between notional and function words.
pronominal attribute
Determiners are words that introduces a noun. It always comes before a
noun, not after, and it also comes before any other adjectives used to
describe the noun.
The definite article - is the word "the." It is used before a noun to define it
as something specific (e.g., something previously mentioned or known,
something unique, or something being identified by the speaker); It is used
to identify, or individualize the referent of the noun.
The indefinite article - is a or an; is used with singular countable nouns: to
refer to a person or a thing that you are mentioning for the first time in a
conversation or a piece of writing; is associated with the idea of oneness,
while the absence of the article implies more-than-oneness; uncountable
nouns; It refers the object denoted by the noun to a certain class of
similar objects and has two distinct meanings.
The zero article - refers to an occasion in speech or writing where a noun or
noun phrase is not preceded by an article (a, an, or the). The zero article is
also known as the zero determiner.
The semantic function of the article - to actualize the notion expressed by
the noun; in other words, the articles correlate this or that notion with reality.
The monosyntactic function of the article - to serve as a formal indicator
of a noun: the presence of the article signals that a noun follows.
The syntactic function of the article - to separate the noun phrase from
other parts of the sentence I have bought a book / an interesting book / an
interesting English book.
The textual function of the article - to connect sentences within a text. It
correlates the noun with some word or a group of words in the previous
context: I have bought a book . The book is interesting.
The communicative function of the article - to specify the information
focus of the sentence.
Statives – are verbs (also known as state verbs) are verbs that describe a
static condition, situation, or state of being. These are such words as afraid,
afoot, aloof, aflame, aware, ashamed, awake, alike, etc.
Interjection - is a part of speech that demonstrates the emotion or feeling of
the author.
 Principles of word classification (semantic, formal, functional).
We defy the word as a linguistic sign. Thus, the analysis of the word
could be made in three different directions: its meaning, form and function.
There is a classification of words:
1. The semantic principle presupposes the evaluation of the general
meaning common to all the words of the given class, the kind of
reference they have. It is important to note that the general meaning of
the words belong to a given class does not coincide with their lexical
or grammatical meanings but is close to both. For this reason some
linguists call it lexical-grammatical (A.I. Smirnitsky). Thus, the general
meaning of the nouns that refer to things or substances is thingness /
substantivity, the meaning of the verb is that of process (action or state),
etc.
2. The formal principle provides for the study of all the specific
inflectional features common to all the words of the given class, i.e.
classes of words can be defined according to how the words of the
various classes take on various forms according to rules of inflections.
As we have seen, sets of opposed inflections form grammatical
categories. This is, word classes are characterized by common
grammatical (morphological) categories. E.g. the noun is characterized
by the categories of number & case, while the verb is characterized by
the categories of tense, mood, voice, aspect, etc.
3. The functional principle concerns the syntactic role of the words of the
given class in the sentence and their ability to combine with other words.
E.g. the syntactic function of adjectives is that of an attribute, while their
combinability is mainly restricted to nouns.
It is important to remember that in order to have scientific validity any
classification must be organized on a constituent basis, i.e. the adopted principles
must be applicable to all the words of the given class, and the classes must be
mutually exclusive.
Exercises:

1. Define and prove the part of speech.

1. I was never any good at maths. Adjective = successful

2. Victims want to see justice done not just for themselves, but for the greater good
of society. Noun
3. Joe was always good for colorful quotes. Adjective = pleasant/satisfactory
4. He turned his good eye on me and laughed. Adjective
5. We gave them water and kept them warm, but it didn’t do any good. Noun
6. It may cost several billion dollars to make good the damage. Make good - verb

2.Define and prove the part of speech. What changes are necessary in translation.

1. Serious-faced(adjective) James Howden entered the high-ceilinged(adjective),

beige-carpeted(adjective) Privy Council chamber.
2. There were singing(n) and(conjunction) storytelling(n) and jokes(n) and
riddles(n) around the fire as well as long conversations about business and
politics.
3. She had(v) a quick(adj) cigarette(n) to steady her nerves.
4. I can’t afford foreign(adj) holidays(n).
5. He is an accomplished(adj) television(adj) performer(n).
6. The beer for lunch made him sleepy (verb+adjective).
7. That branch of the family had been reckless(adj) marries(v).
8. The shops were opening now and the fruitier on the opposite side of the street
was putting up his sun-blind in(prep) anticipation(n) of (prep) a(article)
fine(adj) day(n).

I. Identify part of speech of the underlined words:

1) This is the queerest do I’ve ever come across. Noun, do = event, incident
2) Last summer my mother bottled the juice and canned the pickles. Verbs
3) Could you cool the room? Verb
4) I hate your ifs, ands, or buts. Nouns
5) The enemy attacked before an alert could be sounded. Verb, noun
6) She microwaved her lunch. Verb
7) Sally heated her lunch in the microwave. Verb
8) The doctor eyed my swollen eye. Verb, noun
9) He has still plenty of go at his age. Noun, go = energy
10) We decided to rough it in the tents as the weather was warm. Verb
11) Sometimes one just needs a good cry. Noun
12) Cool and listen to me!