I find the term "adjectival" helpful for things that are prototypcially another form, but function as an adjective in a given context... (also nominal, verbial & adverbial).
In class, I get to this explanation through looking at word shifts in cases like book, table, walk & drive. Disucssing words on a continuum of form & function seems to make it easier for students to understand & apply their understanding...
Best,
Dave
David W. Marlow, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Linguistics and ESOL
Vice President/President Elect - Carolina TESOL
University of South Carolina – Upstate
800 University Way
Spartanburg, SC 29303
864.503.5849
________________________________________
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Brett Reynolds [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, December 28, 2009 7:23 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Gerunds and Participles
On 2009-12-27, at 10:37 PM, Peter Adams wrote:
> When you (and others on the list) say noun is a category of word and that nouns can function as modifiers, I suspect you are talking about uses like "stone" or "computer" in the following sentences:
>
> A stone wall separated my house from my neighbors'.
> I took a computer course at my local community college.
Yes, that's right.
> But why isn't it just as accurate and perhaps more intuitive to students to call "stone" and "computer" adjectives in these sentences.
For the following reasons:
-When dictionaries lists words like 'computer', 'stone', 'lamp', 'toaster', 'tooth', etc., they list them as nouns, not as adjectives, and yet it is the rare noun that cannot come before and modify another noun. This then should be seen as a property of nouns.
-Adjectives appear before nouns functioning as attributive modifiers, but they have other functions...
-He became happy (predicate complement)
-He walked away satisfied (adjunct)
-It was silky smooth (adj modifier (rare))
-I saw something interesting (post-noun modifier)
...so when you say something functions as an adjective, why should that mean attributive modifier?
-Adjectives are typically gradeable (more ~, most ~) and can be modified by 'very', but you can't say:
-The very stone wall
-the most computer course
-Adjectives can function as complement to 'seem', but you don't say:
-The course seemed computer
-The wall seemed stone (this seems marginally acceptable)
-A variety of word categories function as attributive modifiers...
-A dripping faucet (verb)
-A computer course (noun)
-A happy girl (adj)
-An around-the-world trip (preposition (less common))
...so it strikes me as more educationally sound to explain this fact, pointing out the strengths and weaknesses, and its limitations than simply saying that these things are adjectives.
> I'm also wondering, Brett, if you would say nouns can be used as verbs as well as modifiers, as with "book" and "table" in the following.
>
> We booked a reservation at the Tremont Hotel.
> Senator Baucus tabled the motion for a public option.
No, clearly 'book' and 'table' exist as both nouns and verbs. The point is not that all words belong only to a single category, but rather that each category has a wider range of functions than is commonly attributed to it. Here, they are not nouns because nouns don't have past tense forms. Contrast this with 'computer' above which would be expected to have a gradable form if it existed as an adjective.
> And would you say the verbs "walk" and "drive" being used as direct objects in the following sentences?
>
> I shoveled the walk on Saturday.
> We took a drive on Sunday.
Again, no. These clearly exist as both nouns and verbs.
Best,
Brett
-----------------------
Brett Reynolds
English Language Centre
Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
[log in to unmask]
To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"
Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"
Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
|
