On Oct 7, 2007, at 6:59 PM, Martha Kolln wrote:

> I think that one problem with terminology is the term "parts of  
> speech."  (I prefer to discuss "word classes" rather than "parts of  
> speech."  After all, we could also identify prepositional phrases  
> and subjects and predicates as "parts of speech.") Except for the  
> terms "gerund" and "participle," the  Warriner type of traditional  
> school grammar ignores the concept of function in its  
> descriptions.  For example, a noun that modifies a noun headword  
> (the garbage can, the college professor, the computer problem) is  
> labeled an adjective; a noun modifying a verb (I walked home; He's  
> coming Monday) will be called an adverb.
>
> But considering both form and function, we would describe the noun  
> modifiers as nouns functioning adjectivally; the verb modifiers as  
> nouns functioning adverbially.  The word class is one thing; its  
> function another.


How about the word "book" in the following sentence:

We always book our reservations six months in advance of our vacation.

Is this "book" a verb?  Or is it a noun functioning as a verb?  Is  
its form class noun, but its function verb?   It can take an -ed  
inflection (booked), so is it a verb?  But it can take a plural  
(books) and a possessive (the book's cover), so is it a noun?  Or are  
there two different words a noun "book" and a verb "book" that just  
happen to be spelled and pronounced identically?  And, of course,  
there are lots of these words that are usually nouns but are  
occasionally used as verbs or verbs occasionally used as nouns.

Someone please help me understand how this form and function  
distinction works for these words.

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