Selected Word Classes of American English

Form-Class (aka Content) Words

NOUNS   VERBS   ADJECTIVES   ADVERBS

Click here for Structure-Class (aka Function) Words

1. Noun (N)

Inflectional Proof:

• Can occur with a plural morpheme (usually the suffix {-s}), indicating more than one
     e.g. shoe/shoes, dog/dogs, life/lives.

• Has a noun-making derivational suffix e.g. {-ment}, {-ness}, {-(at)ion}, {-ity}
     e.g. government, kindness, organization, hyperactivity

• Det_________: Can be preceded by a determiner, e.g. a, an, the, this
     e.g. a shoe, the dog, every case, his generosity
• Can fit the frame: (The)_______________seem(s) all right.

• Refers to a person, place, thing or idea
     e.g. brother, city, toy, democracy

2. Main/Lexical Verb (V)

Inflectional Proof:

• Can occur with a past tense morpheme (usually {-ed}): Yesterday, I _____________
     e.g. typed, played, walked, waited, ate, sang
• Can occur with the 3rd person singular present tense morpheme {-s}: He/She _____________
     e.g. walks, types, clears, waits
• Can occur with the present participle morpheme {-ing}: We are _________________.
     e.g. jumping, running, writing, singing, going
• Can occur with a past participle morpheme (usually {-ed} or {-en}): We have ________________
     e.g. redecorated, painted, eaten, taken, spoken, met

• Has a verb-making derivational prefix or suffix, e.g. {-ize}, {-en}
     e.g. criticize, hospitalize, endanger, enrage

• Can occur as the first word of a command, e.g. Leave me alone!
• Can be made negative, e.g. They did not leave me alone.
• Can fit in the frame: They must ____________ it.

3. Adjective (A or Adj)

Inflectional Proof:

• Can occur in the comparative form either with the morpheme {-er} or after more _________
     e.g. softer, sillier, calmer, more cynical, more studious
• Can occur in the superlative form with with the morpheme {-est} or after most _________
     e.g. softest, funniest, smartest, most cynical, most responsible

• Has an adjective-making derivational suffix, e.g. {-y}, {-able}, {-ish}, {-al}, {-ous}
     e.g. sugary, hilly, drinkable, foolish, cynical, grammatical, industrious

• Can be preceded by a qualifier, e.g. very, so
     e.g. very nice, so funny
• Can fit both slots of the frame: The ________ man seems very ____________.

4. Adverb (Adv)

Inflectional Proof:

• Can occur in the comparative form either with the morpheme {-er} or after more ___________
     e.g. faster, more cynically
• Can occur in the superlative form either with the morpheme {-er} or after most _________
     e.g. faster, most cynically

Derivational Proof:

• Has an adverb-making derivational suffix, e.g. {-ly}, {-wise}, {-ward}
     e.g. slowly, cynically, crosswise, lengthwise, forward, homeward

Distributional Proof:

• Can be preceded by a qualifier, e.g. very, so
     e.g. so slowly, very calmly
• Can be moved within a sentence.
     e.g. We walked slowly to class. We walked to class slowly. We slowly walked to class.
• Can fit in the frame: The man told his story _____________.

Structure-Class (aka Function) Words

Because structure-class (or function) words typically do not take inflectional or derivational suffixes, the proofs for each word class are all distributional.

DETERMINERS   AUXILIARIES   QUALIFIERS   PREPOSITIONS   PRONOUNS   CONJUNCTIONS

5. Determiners (Det)
   e.g. a, an, the, every, some, her, my, two

• Precede nouns and any adjectival phrases modifying the nouns, e.g. ________(very nice) toy/toys

Test yourself: DETERMINERS

 

6. Auxiliaries (Aux)
   e.g. can, might, will, could, do, have, be

• Can be followed by not, e.g. must not, do not
• Preced main/lexical verbs in declarative statements, e.g. can talk, may go, have worked
• In questions, auxiliars preced noun phrase subjects, e.g. Do the computers work properly?

Test yourself: AUXILIARIES

7. Qualifiers (Q)
   e.g. so, very, really, just

• Precede adjectives or adverbs.
• Can fit in the frame: the funny movies seems _________ funny.
• Semantically increase or decrease the quality signified by the words they modify.

8. Prepositions (P)
   e.g. around, down, in, off, out, up

• Can combine with noun phrases to form prepositional phrases, e.g. in the box
• Can fit in the frame: right _________ the house

9. Pronouns (Prn) 

• Replace noun phrases or clauses, and typically have antecedents in the linguistic (i.e. spoken or written) context or the nonlingusitic (e.g. in the physical) context.
• The exception to the antecedent condition is the class of indefinite pronouns.
• Includes personal pronouns, reflexive pronouns, reciprocal pronouns, indefinate pronouns, and interrogative pronouns.

Test yourself: PRONOUNS

10. Conjunctions (Conj) 
   e.g. and, but, yet, not only...but also

• Join two phrases of the same type, and typically include groups of words also referred to as coordinating conjunctions, and correlative conjunctions.