Chapter 5
Grammatical Categories and Word Classes
Exercise 5.1Nominal Categories
Identify the meaning or function of the genitive in each of the following.
Example: the children's education
Answer: objective genitive
my parents' car
the hostages' release
the prisoners' escape
workers' rights
the sayings of Mao
many hours' delay
a relative of my mother's
the cover of the book
a member of the class
a week's vacation
the boys' singing
a group of reporters
Identify the meaning or function of the underlined definite/indefinite article in each of the following.
Example: It was a week after Christmas
Answer: a = ‘one’
The wind is whistling around the house.
The door flew open.
The gray cat from next door ran into the house.
A cat is trapped in the cellar.
Yesterday I saw a cat. The cat was wearing a collar.
I like a long-haired cat.
A cat makes a good companion.
The “Puss” I know lives across the street.
Discuss what each of the following words shows concerning the formal expression of gender in nouns.
Example: George/Georgina
Answer: separate words for m/f, but also derivationally related
count/countess
dog/bitch
male nurse
king/queen/monarch
assistant
boyfriend
Discuss what each of the following words shows concerning the formal expression of degree in adjectives.
Example: more sensuous
Answer: periphrastic comparison with polysyllabic word
little/less/least
*more open/*opener
best of health
prettiest twin
abler/ablest
late/latter/last
possessive
objective
subjective
descriptive
origin
measure
partitive (double genitive)
descriptive
partitive
measure
subjective
descriptive
generally known
immediate context
modifying expression
no identification possible
first mention/previous mention
generic
= ‘any’
proper > common
derivational affix for feminine gender
separate forms for masculine/feminine; masculine used for common gender
compounding
separate words for masculine/feminine/common gender
common gender derivational affix
compounding
suppletive
incomparable adjective
superlative used for high degree = ‘very’
superlative used for two things, where comparative expected
inflection with disyllabic adjective ending in -le
latter no longer comparative, last no longer superlative