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Word Formation in English
Conversion
Conversion is a main type of wordformation assigning the base to a
different word class with no
change of form. For example, the
verb release is converted to the
noun release.
In the English language
conversion is unusually prominent
as a word-formation process.
There are two kinds of conversion:
full conversion and partial
conversion.
Full conversion is conversion of
an adjective into a noun which has
all features of a noun.
Partial conversion is conversion,
where a word of one word class
appears in a function which is
characteristic of another word class.
Conversion to noun:
There are two types of conversion
to noun.
1) De-verbal
This type includes the following
kinds.
The de-verbal nouns may be used:
1)to denote the state of mind or
sensation.
Desire:
v. To long for, to wish
n. strong longing, earnest wish
dismay:
v. To fill with dismay
n. strong feeling of fear and
hopelessness
b) to denote an event or activity:
attempt v: to try, to make a start
at doing something
n. effort to do something.
Fall: v. To come or go down
freely
n. act of falling
Release: v. To allow to go, to set
free.
n. releasing or being released.
Search: v. To examine, to look
carefully at.
n. act of searching
swim: v. To move the body through
water by using arms, legs,
fins, the tail, etc.
n. act or period of swimming
The deverbal nouns of this kind are
used dynamically.
c) as object of the
given verb:
Catch:
Her husband was a good
catch ( that which is
caught). They say he’s
got a fortune in the bank.
d) as subject of the given verb:
bore:
He became a bore( one that
causes boredom) at last.
cheat:
A cheat is a person who cheats.
e) as instrument of the given verb:
cover:
put the cover ( something with
which to cover things) on the kettle
and the water will boil.
Wrench:
where is your wrench (spanner)?
f) as manner of the given verb:
walk:
I can know him at once by his walk
( manner of walking).
lie:
the lie ( the way or position in
which something lies) of the land.
g) as place of the given verb:
divide:
a period marking the divide.
(something
that
divides,
especially
watershed between two eras of American
history.)
rise:
He sat at the top of a small rise
( an upward slope; small hill).
turn:
Take a turn to the right, please. A
path full of twists and turns ( a place
at which something turns, turns off
or turns back.
2) De-adjectival:
This conversion can be explained
in terms of a fixed adjective plus
noun phrase from which the noun
has been ellipted.
Typical examples are:
I’d like two pints of bitter,
please. ( type of beer)
They ‘re running in the final. (
the final race)
As a foot-baller, he is a natural.
( a naturally skilled player)
Daily( daily newspaper)
Comic (comic actor)
Regular ( regular customer)
Roast( roast beef)
Young marrieds ( married people)
Annual ( annual book or magazine)
Bimonthly ( bimonthly magazine)
Biweekly ( biweekly magazine)
Weekly ( weekly magazine)
Monthly ( monthly magazine)
Perennial ( perennial plant)
Conversion to verb:
There are two types of conversion to verb.
1) Denominal:
This type has seven kinds.
A) to put in N:
Bottle: to put into a bottle
Corner: to put into a difficult position
B) to give N or to provide with N…
coat: to give a coat to
commission: to give a
commission to
mask: to give a mask to
C) to deprive of N:
core: to remove the core from
skin: to take the skin off
peel: to take the skin off fruit,
vegetables etc.
D) to do with N;
knife: to cut or stab with a knife
brake: to stop by means of a
brake
finger: to touch with the fingers
E) to be or act as N with respect:
father: to act as a father to
nurse: to act as a nurse to
pilot: to act as a pilot to
F) to make or change…into N:
cash: to change into cash
group: to make into a group
G) to send or go by N:
mail: to send by mail
telegraph: to send news, etc.
by telegraph
bicycle: to go by bicycle
boat: to travel by motor-car
canoe:
to travel by canoe
Most of the verbs in this type
are transitive verbs, with the
exception of a few words.
2) De-adjectival:
This type has two kinds:
a) (transitive verb) to make
adj. or to make more adj.
Calm: to make calm
Dirty: to make or become
dirty
This type can be used as transitive
verbs and intransitive verbs:
Don’t dirty your hands.
White shoes dirty very easily
b)(intransitive verb) to become adj.
Dry: to become dry
Empty: to become empty
Narrow: to become narrow
Yellow: to become yellow
Grey: to become grey
Blue: to become blue
This kind can also be used as
transitive verbs and intransitive
verbs:
Dry your wet hands.
Sometimes a phrasal verb is
derived from an adjective by
the addition of a particle:
Smooth out: to make smooth
Calm down: to become calm
Sober up: to become sober
Sometimes a verb is derived from an
adjective plus a suffix:
Blacken: to become black
Black: to make black
C. Conversion to adjective:
This category has only one type.
Denominal:
A brick garage: The garage is brick.
Minor categories of conversion:
There are three less minor
categories of conversion, chiefly used
informally.
1)Conversion to nouns:
This type has three kinds.
A) conversion from closed-system words
to nouns.
There are two postulated major word
classes in the English language: open
class and closed class. An open class is
one whose membership is in principle
indefinite or unlimited, whereas a closed
class is one whose membership is fixed
or limited.
New items are constantly being added to
the open class, as new ideas, inventions,
etc, appear. Nouns, verbs, adjective and
adverbs are open-class items. New items
are not regularly added to the closed class
as they are in the case of open-class items.
Pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions,
articles, etc. are all closed-system words.
Examples are:
But(i.e. the word but) contains three letters.
His speech contains too many ifs and buts.
It tells you about the how and the why of
flight.
B)Conversion from affixes to
nouns:
Very occasionally, an affix may
be converted to nouns, e.g.
This is the age of isms
C) Conversion from phrases to nouns:
Phrases or combinations of more than
one word, may sometimes be reduced to
noun status by conversion, e.g.
Whenever I gamble, my horse is one of
the also-rans. ( one of the horses which
also ran but was not among the winners.)
2)Conversion to verbs
This conversion is conversion
from closed-class words and nonlexical items to verbs. It is chiefly
used informally:
They downed tools in protest.
3)Conversion to adjectives:
This conversion is the conversion from
phrases to adjectives.
An up-in-the-air feeling: I feel very up in
the air ( with reference to cheerful spirits)
Conversion may be reclassified into
three types according to the same wordclasses; the change of secondary word
class—nouns, the change of secondary
word class---verbs and the change of
secondary word class---adjectives.
The change of secondary word class--nouns:
This type has four kinds.
1) noncount nouns- count nouns:
a) a unit of N:
Two coffees ( two cups of coffee)
Two sugars ( two lumps of sugar)
b)a kind of N:
Some paints are more lasting than others.
This is a better bread than the one I baked
yesterday.
c) an instance of N: ( with abstract nouns)
May I ask a favour of you?
The difficulties of English grammar;
A home truth ( a fact about someone
which is unpleasant for him but true.)
Small kindnesses
A miserable failure
A great injustice