I'm glad I'm not alone in this....
Linda Comerford
317.786.6404
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www.comerfordconsulting.com <http://www.comerfordconsulting.com/>
_____
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Peter Adams
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2008 5:32 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: tion & nouns
Martha,
Could help me a little further with the form/function distinction.
I'm wondering about a word like "red," which seems to be an adjective but
also seems to satisfy the tests for a noun:
Many of the reds in Carpaccio's paintings have faded over the years. (has a
plural form)
The red's intensity drew my eye to the corner of the painting. (takes
possessive; takes determiner)
But would that mean that "red" in the following sentence is a noun in form
but functioning as an adjectival?
The red bathrobe was draped over the back of the chair.
Another example: the word "smooth." which, at first glance seems to be an
adjective.
The smooth surface of the river disguised the fact that it was flowing
rapidly.
But what about when it's used as a verb?
John Edwards smoothed Joe Biden's ruffled feathers.
Is this an adjective used as a verb? Or, does it make more sense to say
there are two words spelled and pronounced the same--smooth--but one is a
verb and a different word smooth is an adjective?
One more example. How do we decide whether words like "ride" or "walk" are
nouns that can function as verbs or verbs that can function as nouns?
I took two rides on Saturday.
The ride's ending was a great surprise.
We ride/rode for hours
They will ride until the sun sets.
Our walks took place regardless of the weather.
The walk's purpose was to aid our digestion.
The teacher walks/walked to work.
The teacher has walked to class today.
Peter Adams
On Jan 14, 2008, at 4:33 PM, Martha Kolln wrote:
Linda & all,
The suffix -tion is an exceptionally good clue that a word is a noun. Even
Karl's list of -tion verbs can be shown to be nouns as well by making them
plural--with the possible exception of apportion. But the list of -tion
words made from verbs is huge. In the discussion of noun derivational
suffixes in Understanding English Grammar, I list the following from the
first few pages of the dictionary: abbreviation, abolition, abortion,
abstraction, accommodation, accumulation, accusation, acquisition, action.
Every page has them in abundance--verbs that can be turned into nouns with
the -ion (or -tion, -ation, etc.) added.
And -tion is only one of many such derivational suffixes that identify a
word as a noun: Another that was mentioned was -ment. There's also -ance,
-al, -ant, -age, -y, -ure, and -er--and more. The concept of "noun" as one
of the form classes--along with verbs, adjectives, and adverbs--is an
important distinction between the Latin-based "eight parts of speech" and
the word classes based on English. All the form classes have distinctive
forms that students will come to recognize in a conscious way--and they'll
learn to appreciate their inner grammar expertise.
And of course, nearly all nouns can function as adjectives. It's important
in discussing "parts of speech" to recognize the distinction between form
and function. It presents a problem for test takers when they are asked to
identify the "part of speech." In a sentence with "the telephone book," for
example, the underlined word is functioning as an adjective, but that
doesn't make it an adjective; it's still a noun in form.
Just some thoughts.
Martha
Here's a list (generated from an aspell file) of all the reasonably
common verbs ending in -tion. All were ultimately derived from nouns,
although for some of them (e.g., apportion) the conversion took place
before the word was borrowed.
It's not a large list, but it does show that the -tion = N rule is too tidy.
apportion
auction
audition
caption
caution
condition
function
malfunction
mention
motion
partition
petition
portion
position
precondition
proportion
proposition
question
ration
reapportion
recondition
reposition
requisition
sanction
section
station
vacation
rbetting wrote:
> Herb,
>
> Comments on noun functions. Does calling nouns used this way adjective
make
> sense to students? Our linguistic system likes to be able to manipulate
form
> words into other parts of speech, nouns to verbs and so on. One choice
that
> appears to be handy is our use of nouns as modifiers, as in "the stocking
> committee planning chart" or "a fan belt compression fitting design plan."
> So we might hear of a "site plan coordination effort currently underway."
I
> just read about the " 2007 Devils Lake operation summary report document."
> How's this: "The linear realignment task force control system planning
> session." That could apply to grammar study.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "STAHLKE, HERBERT F" <hstahlkTo join or <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
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