1 Chapter 3 Word-Formation I: The Major Processes3.1 Derivation 3.2 Compounding 3.3 Conversion
2 Word-formation is a process of creating new words by means of existing elements and according to the patterns and rules of a given language. The three major processes affixation or derivation (17.5%) Prefixation suffixation conversion (10.5%) composition or compounding (27%)
3 1. Derivation Derivation or affixation is a kind of word-formation when a new word is formed by adding a derivational morpheme (usually suffix or prefix) to the root. Prefixation is a kind of word-formation when a new word is formed by adding a prefix to the root. Suffixation is a kind of word-formation when a new word is formed by adding a suffix to the root.
4 be- adj. or n. ----v. becalm, belittle, befriend Prefixes modify the lexical meaning of the root; therefore the simple word and its prefixed derivative usually belong to the same part of speech. The group of class-changing prefixes is rather small, e.g.: be- adj. or n. ----v. becalm, belittle, befriend de n.-----v. deform, deoil, defrost en n.-----v. enslave, endanger un n.-----v. unleash（解开…皮带）, unearth anti- n.-----adj. anti-war, anti-carbon 防积炭的 inter- n.-----adj. inter-state, inter-laboratory post- n.-----adj. postwar, postliberation pre- n.-----adj. prewar, preplant
5 Prefixation: The classification of prefixesIn some reference books, prefixes (and suffixes) are classified according to their source, but this does not seem to help from a practical point of view. It seems more helpful to classify the most important productive prefixes by their meaning into the following ten categories:
6 1) Negative prefixes: can be uesed in front of many words (mainly nouns and verbs) to express a negative or opposite meaning. a-/an-: amoral, asexual, atheism, anacid, anarchy dis-: dishonest, discontent, discover, disobey, disagree in-: Incomplete, inconsistent, incorrect, invulnerable, illogical, illegal, impolite, immoral, imbalance, irrational, irregular non-: nonviolent, non-cooperation, nonautomatic, nonadjustable, nonalcoholic un-: uninformative, unexpected, unease, unrest
7 A mention should be made of the negative prefix inA mention should be made of the negative prefix in. It can be realized in different phonological environment as in, im, ir, il. “Im”, before /b/, /p/ and /m/: imbalance, impossible, impoverish “Il”, before /l/: illegal, illogical, illiteracy “Ir”, before /r/: irrelevant, irregular, irremovable “In”, before other sounds: informal, insensible, inevitable
8 Order Literate Symmetry Governmental Relevant Productive BelievableDisorder Illiterate Asymmetry Nongovernmental Irrelevant Unproductive Unbelievable Invulnerable Insane Unrelated Nonaligned Immature Order Literate Symmetry Governmental Relevant Productive Believable Vulnerable Sane Related Aligned Mature
9 2) Reversative or privative: This group of prefixes can all be found in the previous group, for “reversative” is a special case of “negative”. This group of prefixes is generally used before verbs to form their relational antonyms which designate reversative action. de-: defrost, deregulate, degenerate, deform, denationalize un-: unwind, unpack, untie, unwrap, unmask dis-: disconnect, disarm, disappear, disclose
10 Centralize Plane Infect Zip Regulate Possess Pollute DecentralizeDeplane Disinfect Unzip Deregulate Dispossess Depollute
11 3)Pejorative prefixes: this group of prefixes can be used to express disapproval or suggest that someone or something is of little value and importance. mis-: misguide, misapplication, misbehavior, mischoice, misgiving mal-: maladjustment, maldigestion, malfunction, maldevelopment pseudo-: pseudonym, pseudoscience, pseudoclassic, pseudo-friend
12 4)Prefixes of degree or size:hyper-(more that usual): hyperactive, hypercritical, hyperaggressive, hypercautious ultra- (extremely, to excess): ultramodern, ultrasecret, ultraclean, ultrasonic, ultraconservative mini-(very small): minibus, minicamera, miniskirt out-(surpassing): outdo, outgrow, outlive over-(to excess): overwork, overestimate, overemphasize, overabundance, overburden under-(too little, not enough): underdeveloped, underpopulation, undergraduate ■super-(more powerful that usual): supermarket, superpower, superstar ■sub-(lesser): subadult, subtitle, subculture, subatom
13 Computer Conscious Natural Sensitive Simple Number Statement cultureMinicomputer Subconscious Supernatural Hypersensitive/ultrasensitive Oversimple Outnumber Understatement Subculture
14 5) Prefixes of orientation and attitudeco-(togethter): co-author, co-star, co-prosperity, cooperation counter-(against): counterexample, counterclaim(反诉), counteract, counterattack, counterculture anti-(against): anti-abortion, anti-art, antiwar, antibacterial, antisocial, anticancer, antibody pro-(in favor of ): pro-American, pro-revolutionary, pro-Fascism , pro-student, proslavery
15 6) Locative prefixes fore-(placed at the front): forearm, foreleg, forename, foreword inter-(between): international, intergovernmental, intertwine, interdisciplinary, intercollege trans-(across): transatlantic, transoceanic, transmit, transplant tele-(distant): telephone, telegram, telecommunication, telescope
16 View Conference Continental Ground Cast Racial Shore Interviewteleconference Intercontinental Foreground Telecast Transracial Foreshore
17 7) Prefixes of time and orderex-(former and still living): ex-husband, ex-president, ex-colony, ex-convict fore-(before; in advance of time or rank): foresee, foretell, forefather, forewarn pre-(before): prewar, prehistoric, prepay, premarital post-(after): post-election, postwar, postgraduate, postdoctoral
18 8) Number prefixes uni-/mono-: unilateral, unicell, unicircuit, unicolor, unicycle, unidimensional, uniform, unipolar, monoxide, monocrystal, monogamy, monologue bi-/di-: bicycle, bilingual, bimonthly, dioxide, dialogue, dichotomy, disyllable tri-: triangular, triatomic, trimonthly, trilateral, trilingual multi-/poly-: multipurpose, multipolar, multiangular, multilingual, polyatomic, polycrystal, polygamy semi-: semicircle, semiliterate, semivowel, semiannual, semicolony, semiautomatic
19 Lingual Lateral Polar DimensionalUnilingual, bilingual, trilingual, multilingual Unilateral, bilateral, trilateral, multilateral Unipolar, bipolar, tripolar, multipolar Unidimensional, bidimensional, tridimensional (three-dimensional), multidimensional Lingual Lateral Polar Dimensional
20 9) Conversion prefixes a- (added to verbs to produce predicative adjectives): aloud, asleep, aglow, awash be-( with nouns to form transitive verbs; with nouns plus –ed to produce adjectives): belittle, bestir, befriend, bewitch, befogged en/em-( with nouns or adjectives to create transitive verbs)(to put in or on): endanger, enforce, enable, embody, embitter, empower, enrich, enslave, embed, embank
21 10) Miscellaneous prefixesauto (self)-: automation, autobiography, autocontrol Neo-(new): Neo-classicism,neo-colonialism, neo-fascism, Neolithic Pan-(all): Pan-Pacific, Pan-American, Pan-African homo (the same): homonym, homophone, homocentric vice (deputy): vice-chairman, vice-governor, vice-president
22 Suffixation Suffixation is the formation of a new word by adding a suffix or a combining form to the base, and usually changing the word-class of the base; boy n. -ish boyish adj. BUT: boy n. +hood boyhood (an abstract n.)
23 The classification of suffixesSince suffixes mainly change the word class, we shall group suffixes on a grammatical basis into 1) noun suffixes 2) adjective suffixes 3) adverb suffixes 4) verb suffixes
24 A. Noun(-forming) suffixes:(1) 具有某种职业或动作的人 1) -an, -ain, 表示"……地方的人，精通……的人” American, historian, 2) -al, 表示"具有……职务的人" principal, 3) -ant,-ent, 表示"……者” merchant, agent, servant, student, 4) -ar, 表示"……的人” scholar, liar, peddler 5) -ard, -art, 表示"做……的人” coward, laggard, braggart 6) -arian, 表示"……派别的人， ……主义的人” humanitarian, vegetarian
25 7) -ary, 表示“从事……的人” secretary, missionary（传教士）8) -ate, 表示"具有……职责的人" candidate, graduate 9) -ator, 表示"做……的人" educator, speculator(投机者) 10) -crat, 表示"某种政体，主义的支持者" democrat, bureaucrat 11) -ee, 表示"动作承受者" employee, examinee 12) -eer, 表示"从事于……人" engineer, volunteer 13) -er, 表示"从事某种职业的人, 某地区，地方的人" banker, observer, Londoner, villager
26 14) -ese, 表示" ……国人，…..地方的人” Japanese15) -ess, 表示"阴性人称名词， actress, hostess, manageress 17) -ian, 表示"……地方人，信仰…….教的人，从事……职业的人” Christian, physician(内科医生)， musician 18) -ician, 表示"……家，” electrician, magician, technician 19) -icist, 表示"……家，…….者,” physicist, phoneticist, technicist 20) -ic, 表示"……者，……师" mechanic, critic
27 21) -ie, 表示“可爱，指小" dearie, auntie, lassie(小姑娘)22) -ier, 表示"从事……职业” cavalier, clothier, brazier(黄铜匠) 23) -ine, ian, 表示"阴性人称" heroine, ballerina 24) -ist, 表示"从事……研究者， 信仰……主义者" pianist, communist, dentist, artist, chemist 26） -logist, 表示“……学家" biologist, geologist(地质学家) 27) -or, 表示"……者" author, doctor, operator, 28) -ster, 表示"做…事情的人” gamester(赌徒)，songster
28 (2). 构成，具有抽象名词的含义 1) -acy, 表示"性质，状态，境遇" accuracy, diplomacy 2) -age, 表示"状态，行为，身份及其结果，总称" courage, storage, marriage 3) -al, a) 表示"事物的动作，过程” refusal, arrival, survival, denial, approval b) 表示具体的事物 manual（手册）, signal, editorial（社论）, journal 4) -ance, -ence表示"性质，状况，行为，过程，总量，程度” endurance, importance, diligence, difference, obedience 5) -ancy, -ency, 表示"性质，状态，行为，过程" frequency, urgency, efficiency, 6) -bility, 表示"动作，性质，状态" possibility, feasibility, 7) -craft, 表示"工艺，技巧” woodcraft, handicraft, statecraft（治国策） 8) -cracy, 表示"统治，支配" bureaucracy, democracy
29 9) -cy, 表示"性质，状态，职位，级别" bankruptcy(破产)，supremacy10) -dom, 表示"等级，领域，状态" freedom, kingdom, wisdom 11) -ery, -ry, 表示"行为，状态，习性" bravery, bribery, rivalry 12) -ety, 表示"性质，状态” variety, dubiety(怀疑) 13) -faction, -facture, 表示"作成，……化，作用" satisfaction, manufacture 14) -hood, 表示"资格，身份, 年纪，状态" childhood, manhood, falsehood 15) -ice, 表示"行为，性质，状态" notice, justice, service 16) -ine, 表示"带有抽象概念" medicine, discipline, famine 17) -ing, 表示"动作的过程，结果" building, writing, learning
30 18) -ion, -sion, -tion, -ation, -ition, 表示"行为的过程，结果，状况" action, solution, conclusion, destruction, expression, correction 19) -ise, 表示"性质，状态” exercise, merchandise(商业) 20) -ism, 表示"制度，主义，学说，信仰，行为" socialism, criticism, colloquialism, heroism 21) -ity, 表示"性质，状态，程度” purity, reality, ability, calamity
31 22) -ment, 表示"行为，状态，过程，手段及其结果 treatment, movement, judgment, punishment, argument23) -mony, 表示“动作的结果，状态” ceremony, testimony（证词） 24) -ness, 表示"性质，状态，程度" goodness, kindness, tiredness, friendliness 25) -or, -our, 表示"动作，性质，状态" favor, error,
32 26) -osity, 表示"动作，状态” curiosity27) -ship, 表示"情况，性质，技巧，技能及身份，职业” hardship, membership, friendship 28) -th, 表示"动作，性质，过程，状态" depth, wealth, truth, length, growth 29) -tude, 表示“性质，状态，程度” latitude(纬度), altitude(海拔) 30) -ure, 表示"行为，结果" exposure, pressure, failure, procedure(手续)， 31) -y, 表示"行为的结果，状态，性质” glory, history, victory, inquiry
33 2) -ary, 表示"住所，场地" library, granary (谷仓) (3) 带有场所，地方的含义 1) -age, 表示"住所，地点" village, cottage 2) -ary, 表示"住所，场地" library, granary (谷仓) 3) -ery, ry, 表示"工作场所，饲养所，地点" laundry, nursery, surgery(手术室) 4) -ory, 表示“工作场所，住处” factory, dormitory, laboratory, observatory（气象台）
34 (4) 带有学术，科技含义 1) -grapy, 表示"……学，写法” biography, calligraphy, geography2) -ic, ics, 表示“……学 ” logic, mechanics（机械学）, optics（光学）, electronics 3) -ology, 表示"……学 ” biology, zoology, technology(工艺学) 4) -nomy, 表示"……学……术" astronomy, economy, bionomy(生态学) 5) -ery, 表示“学科，技术” chemistry, cookery（烹饪术）, machinery 6) -y, 表示“……学，术，法” photography（摄影术）, philosophy
35 (5) 表示人和事物的总和，集合含义 1) -age, tonnage（排水量） 2) -dom, newspaperdom(新闻界) 3) -hood, neighbourhood, womanhood 4) -ery, cavalry（骑兵）, ministry(内阁) 5) -ure, legislature, judicature
36 (6) 表示物品和物质名称的含义 1) -ant, ent, solvent（溶剂）, constant（常数） 2) -al, signal, pictorial(画报) 3) ar, collar, pillar(石柱) 4) - er, boiler, computer, washer, cooker 5) -ery, drapery(绸缎) 6) -ing, clothing, matting（席） 7) -ment, instrument, equipment, attachment（附加装置）
37 (7) 表示“细小”的含义 1) -etta, -ette, etto, cigarette, essayette(短文) 2) -ling, duckling 3) -let, booklet, pamphlet（小册子） 4) -y, doggy, pussy
38 b. Adjective (forming) suffixes:（1） 带有“属性，倾向，相关”的含义 1) -able, -ible, movable, comfortable, applicable, visible, responsible 2) -al, natural, additional, educational 3) -ant, -ent, distant, important, excellent 4) -ar, similar, popular, regular 5) -ary, military, voluntary 6) -ice, -atie, ical, politic, systematic, historic, physical, 7) -ing, moving, touching, daring 8) -ish, foolish, bookish, selfish 9) -ive, active, impressive, decisive 10) -ory, satisfactory, compulsory
39 (2) 表示“相象，类似”的含义 1) -ish, boyish, childish 2) -esque, picturesque 3) -like, manlike, childlike 4) -ly, manly, fatherly, scholarly, motherly 5) -some, troublesome, handsome 6) -y, milky, pasty
40 (4) 表示由某种物质形成，制成或生产的含义(3) 表示“充分的”含义 1) -ful, beautiful, wonderful, helpful, truthful 2) -ous, dangerous, generous, courageous, various (4) 表示由某种物质形成，制成或生产的含义 1) -en, wooden, golden, woolen（毛纺的） 2) -ous, gaseous（气态的） 3) -fic, scientific
41 (5) 表示方向的含义 1) -ern, eastern, western 2) -ward, downward, forward (6) 表示“倍数”的含义 1) -fold, twofold, tenfold (7) 表示“数量关系”的含义 1) -teen, thirteen 2) -ty, fifty 3) -th, fourth, fiftieth
42 (8) 表示国籍，语种，宗教的含义 1) -an, Roman, European 2) -ese, Chinese, Japanese 3) -ish, English, Spanish (9) 表示“比较程度”的含义 1) -ish, reddish, yellowish 2) -most, foremost, topmost (10)其他的含义 -less, 表示否定，countless, stainless, wireless
43 c. Verb(-forming) suffixes:1) -ize, ise, 表示"做成，变成，……化“ modernize, mechanize, democratize, organize 2) -en, 表示"使成为，引起，使有” quicken, weaken, soften, harden 3) -fy, 表示"使……化, 使成” beautify, purify, intensify, signify, simplify 4) -ate, 表示“成为……，处理，作用” separate, operate, indicate
44 False Sterile Intense Fat Horror Memory Apology Falsify Sterilize(消毒) Intensify Fatten Horrify Memorize Apologize
45 d. Adverb (forming) suffixes:1) -ly: possibly, swiftly, simply 2) -ward, -wards( towards the stated direction and place): downward, inwards, upward 3) -wise(in the position or direction of; concerning): otherwise, clockwise, education-wise(至于）, money-wise
46 White, Sowell, Yanagihara (1989) Study of American Heritage Word Frequency Book (Carroll, Davies, Richmond, 1971) Using this list of high frequency words: Prefixes: Un- alone accounts for 26% of the prefixed words. Un-, re-, and in- (not) account for 51% of the total. Un-, re-, in-, and dis- account for 58% of the total.
47 Suffixes: -s, -es, ing, account for 65% of suffixed words. Just 10 suffixes account for 85% of suffixed words-- -s, -es, -ing, -ly, -er, -ion, -able, -al, -y, -ness
48 Some modern affixes 1. Mega-(very large) Megacity特大城市Megadestruction大毁灭 Megagame大赛 Megastructure超级建筑 Megarich十分富有 Megaversity超级大学
49 2.Cyber-(automatic/computerized)Cyberculture自动化/电脑化社会 Cyberbrain电脑 Cyberart电脑艺术/计算机技术 Cyber-security 网络安全 Cyber-space网络虚拟空间 Cyber-privacy网络隐私 3.Hyper-(super/too much) Hypermedia超媒体 Hyperlinks超级链接 Hyperfriction过度摩擦 Hyperslow极缓慢的 Hyberverbal说话过多的
50 4. Info- (information) Infotech信息技术 Infocenter信息中心 Infotainment信息娱乐节目 Infomercial信息商业化的 5. nano- (one billionth) Nanotech纳米技术 Nanofabrication纳米加工 Nanocomputer超高速电脑
51 6.techno- (technology) Technomania技术热 Technophobia恐技术症 Technocracy专家政治 techno-centric 以技术为中心的 7. tele- (long-distance transfer/television) Telead电话约定广告 Telrbanking电脑化银行业务 Telebus电话叫车/租车 Telecenter远程计算中心 Tele-education远程教育
52 8. E- (electronic) 电子邮件 E-text电子文本 E-zine电子杂志 E-cash电子货币 9. Of- (office) Oftel办公电话 Oflot公司内部停车场地 Ofbank银行办事处
53 10. -bot (robot) Knowbot智力机器人 Mobot移动机器人 Microbot微型机器人 11. –size (measurements) Downsize缩小 Upsize放大 Rightsize按比例制作 life-size 按实物大小制作
54 12. –ware (articles of the same kind)Glassware玻璃器皿 Soft/hardware软/硬件 Middleware中间设备 Silverware银器 Warehouse仓库 13.-centric (of the center/taking…as the center) User-centric以用户为中心的 Male-centric以男士为主的 Net-Centric War 网络中心战 IBM compatible-centric以销售IBM兼容机为主的
55 (二). Structure of derivativesa. centered on free root prefix + free root prefix root + suffix prefix + free root + suffix b. centered on bound root prefix + bound root bound root + suffix prefix + bound root + suffix
56 2. Compounding A. Definition: Compounding or composition is a word-formation process consisting of joining two or more bases to form a new unit, a compound word. Compounds are written in various ways, e.g. (a) solid: airtight（密封的）, airmail; (b) hyphenated: air-conditioning; (c) open: air force, air raid（空袭）.
57 B. Characteristics of Compoundsa. Phonetic features In compounds the word stress usually occurs on the first element whereas in noun phrases the second element is generally stressed if there is only one stress. In cases of two stresses, the compound has the primary stress on the first element and the secondary stress, if any, on the second whereas the opposite is true of free phrases, e.g.
58 Compound: a ´greenhouse, a ´greenhornFree phrases: a green ´house, a green ´horn But these stress patterns of compounds are not absolute.
59 b. Semantic features Compounds are different from free phrase in semantic unity. Every compound should express a single idea as one word. In fact, the meanings of constituents are closely joined to create a compound with a meaning which we can easily recognize. Eg: sunbathe “to spend time in strong sunlight in order to make the body brown”. However, sometimes its constituents are combined to express a single idea with nothing to do with the meanings of these constituents. Eg: green-eyed, green fingers
60 c. Grammatical featuresA compound tends to play a single grammatical role in a sentence
61 C. Classification of CompoundsWhen it comes to the word class of a compound, it is usually the second word in a two-word compound that determines the word class of the compound concerned. This element is called the head of the compound. For example , board is a noun, blackboard is also a noun, and dream and daydream are of the same word class. The head is usually a noun, a verb , or an adjective.
62 Types of compounds Noun compounds Adjective compounds Verb compounds
63 C. Classification of Compounds 1. Noun compounds: This is the commonest type, and new specimens are constantly being formed. 一） noun compounds (1) n + n: moon walk，evening school (2) n + v: toothache, bloodtest (3) v + n: crybaby, tell-tale (4) a + n: deadline, blueprint
64 (8) adv + v: outbreak, downfall (9) v + adv: sit-in, have-not (5) n + v-ing brainwashing, air-conditioning (6) v-ing + n: cleaning lady, wading bird(涉水鸟) (7) n + v-er: stockholder, crime reporter (8) adv + v: outbreak, downfall (9) v + adv: sit-in, have-not (10) v-ing + adv: going-over, carryings-on (11) adv + v-ing: up-bringing
65 二)Noun compounds are subclassified according to the syntactic relation of the compounding elements:(a) Subject and verb: The verb may take the form of the base or that of the base plus –ing. Examples are headache “the head aches”, heartbeat “the heart beats”; revolving door “the door revolves”.
66 (b) Verb and object: The verb may take the form of the base or that of the base+-ing.For example: birthcontrol “to control birth”; housekeeping “to keep house”; and dressmaking “to make dresses”. The type housekeeping and dressmaking is very productive.
67 (c) Verb and adverbial: Verbal noun in –ing +adverbial (consisting of a prepositional phrase)e.g. swimming pool “to swim in the pool or a pool for swimming”; typing paper “to type on paper”. It is a very productive type. (d) Subject and object: steamboat “steam powers the boat”; honeybee “the bee produces honey.”
68 (e) Restrictive relation: the first element restricts the meaning of the second:raindrop “a drop of rain”; evening school “a school in the evening”; tablecloth “a cloth for table”; breakfast time “time for breakfast”. The types of words like tablecloth and breakfast time expressing purpose is very productive.
69 (f) Appositive relation: the first element is in apposition to the second one:e.g. a peasant girl “the girl is a peasant”; a pine tree “the tree is a pine”. Compound nouns can also be formed from phrasal verbs. This type is very common in contemporary English. Examples are: sit-in, dropout, phone-in（听众热线电话直播节目）, breakdown, setback and take-off.
70 2. Adjective compounds: Adjective compounds are also subclassified according to the syntactic relation of the compounding elements: (a) Subject and verb: The verb is in the form of past participle. Examples are thunder-struck (houses) “thunder struck the houses”; suntanned (skin) “sun tanned the skin”. frost-bitten（vegetables）: frost bite the vegetables This type is highly productive. (b) Verb and object: the verb is in the form of present participle, e.g. fault-finding “to find fault”; record-breaking peaceloving “to love peace”. It is a productive type.
71 (c) Verb and adverbial: The verb is in the form of present participle or past participle:e.g. hardworking; well-behaved, quick-frozen, new-laid (d) Noun and adjective: The noun denoting aspect. It is very productive type with certain adjectives that are complemented by preposition+noun; e.g. taxfree “free from tax”; seasick “sick due to sailing on the sea”; fireproof “proof against fire”.
72 The noun denoting the thing with which the adjective is compared (as+adjective+as+noun, adjective like noun); e.g. ocean green “as green as ocean”; crystal-clear “as clear as a crystal”; shoulder-high “as high as shoulders”. (e) Coordinating relationship: The two adjectives are in a coordinating relationship, e.g. bittersweet “sweet but bitter”; Sino-U.S. relations “relation between China and the U.S.” deaf-mute: deaf and mute
73 3. Verb compounds Verb compounds fall into two main groups according to their method of formation: (a) Those formed by back-formation（逆生法）: Back-formation is a “reversal” of derivation. Many verb compound are formed by dropping the supposed suffixes er, tion or ing,etc. from the exiting nouns. For example, house-keep is formed by deleting –ing and –er from housekeeping and housekeeper, which entered the language much earlier. Other examples are: to vacuum clean (form vacuum cleaner); （真空吸尘器） to babysit (from babysitting and babysitter); to windowshop (from window-shopping). to mass produce (from mass production)
74 (b) Those formed by conversion（转化法）(b) Those formed by conversion（转化法）. In this case, the verb compounds are converted from noun compounds; e.g. to nickname to honeymoon to outline to machine-gun to snowball, etc. These verb compounds are very often used in colloquial speech.
75 The differences between compounds and free phrasesWhen two words are put together, they may form either a compound (e.g. greenhouse) or a free phrase (a green house). The two differ in the following aspects: (1) Semantics a compound occurs as an inseparable semantic unit that differs in meaning from a free phrase.
76 The meaning of a free phrase is almost always the sum of the meanings of its parts. For instance, “a green house” is “a house which is green”. But the meaning of a compound is not always the sum total of the meanings of its components. For example, “greenhouse” refers to “a building in which the temperature and humidity can be regulated for the cultivation of delicate or out-of season plants”. More examples are: dog days: the hottest days of the year blue blood: the quality of being a nobleman by birth.
77 (2) Phonology Phonologically, many compounds have a so-called compound accent, i.e. a stress on the first element (`__ __), as`blacklist, `blackbird; compound accent is different from phrase accent, which has a secondary stress on the first element and the main stress on the second element (\ __ `__), as in \black `bird.
78 (3) Orthography Compounds can be written in the following three ways:(a) solid: airtight (b) hyphenated: knee-high (c) open: air raid It is difficult to decide which form should be used as criterion; for sometimes the same compound may appear in three different forms, e.g. flowerpot, flower-pot, flower pot. The general tendency is for compounds to be written “solid” as soon as they have gained permanent status; but a free phrase is always written open.
79 3. Conversion - zero derivationThe process of converting words from one part of speech to another without adding any derivative element is called conversion or zero derivation.(零位派生). Ex: the noun “father” in “He is a father of three children” the verb “father” in “He fathered three orphans”
80 Types of conversion Among the various types of conversion, the conversion between noun and verb is the most productive.
81 2. Noun----verb conversion1）.名词转化为动词: Almost all monomorphemic verbs can be converted into nouns. The new words obtained through conversion are usually related to the original words in the following ways: (a) “to put in/on N”: The noun are usually locative nouns denoting a place, a container or a specified location; e.g. The workers canned apples. The boy caged the bird he caught. He pocketed most of his earnings. The new house is floored with wood.
82 (b) “to give N, to provide N”:e.g. shelter as in “They shelter the orphans.” The pill are coated with sugar. The doctor labeled the bottle poisonous. The floor is shining since it was waxed just now.
83 (c) “to deprive of N; or to remove the object denoted by the noun from something”.e.g. weed as in “Bill weeded the garden.” Other examples: core, dust, skin, gut （取出内脏）and peel. Mother is peeling potatoes. Please core the peach before eating it.
84 (d) “To…with N”: More precisely, the meaning of the verb is “to use the referent of the noun as an instrument for whatever activity particularly associated with it”; e.g. brake, as in “John braked the car.”; finger as in “She fingered the soft silk.” Other examples: screw, glue, elbow, knife, x-rays and head. The car headed the procession. The doctor x-rayed the lungs of the patient.
85 (e) “to be/act as N with respect to…1) Verbs from human nouns: e.g. mother as in “She mothered the orphan.” Other example: nurse, boss, pilot, referee and usher（引座员-引导、招待）. 2) Verbs from animal nouns: e.g. parrot as in “Tom parroted what the boss had said.” Some other examples: ape (to imitate); monkey (to fool about); dog (to follow closely behind); wolf (to eat greedily).
86 3) Verbs from inanimate nouns: e. g3) Verbs from inanimate nouns: e.g. shadow as in “The police shadowed the suspected spy.” (The police followed the suspected spy closely like a shadow.) Other examples: balloon (to swell out like a balloon), flood, ghost (to act as a ghost), mushroom, and snowball (to grow quickly in size or importance
87 (f) “to make/change …into N”: e. g(f) “to make/change …into N”: e.g. cash as in “Please cash this check for me.” Other examples: cripple (to make a cripple of; damage or weaken seriously), orphan, fool, and group.
88 (g) “to send/ go by N”: e. g(g) “to send/ go by N”: e.g. mail as in “Will you please mail the parcel?” Other examples: ship, telegraph, and telephone. Or bicycle as in “We bicycled to the Summer Palace.” Other examples: motor, boat, ski, etc.
89 (h) “to spend the period of time denoted by N”: e. g(h) “to spend the period of time denoted by N”: e.g. summer as in “We summered in Qingdao.” Other examples: holiday, winter, weekend, vacation, etc.
90 2）. 动词转化为名词: is quite common2）.动词转化为名词: is quite common. It can be subdivided into the following groups. (a) “state” (generally ‘state of mind’ or ‘state of sensation’) (from the stative verbs) e.g. desire as in “He had a desire to be a scientist.” Other examples: doubt, disgust, want, surprise. The food at the hotel filled him with disgust. Want makes people unhappy.
91 (b) “event/ activity” (from dynamic verbs): The converted noun indicate a single instance or occasion. e.g. The noun commute means “an act or instance of commuting” as in “his usual morning commute to work”. Examples of this kind of noun usually occur following verbs like give, make, have or take, and are preceded by the indefinite article: To give a cry, start, howl, laugh; To have a look, swim, ride, try, drink; To make a dash, dive, guess, search, an attempt; To take a peep, stroll, turn. Such expressions are informal and colloquial.
92 (c) “object or result of V”: e. g. find n. “something found, esp. sth(c) “object or result of V”: e.g. find n. “something found, esp. sth. valuable or pleasing” as in “This little restaurant is quite a find.” Other examples: catch (of fish), answer, cough, import and reject. (d) “agent of V”: e.g. bore as in “He is a great bore.” Other examples: cheat, spy, coach, help and rebel. (e) “ instrument of V”: e.g. cover as in “The cloth is good cover for the table.” Other examples: cure（治疗法）, wrap and polish（抛光剂）. (f) “place of V”: e.g. divide as in “This is the divide between the two rivers.” More examples: turn, rise, return and dump（倒垃圾—垃圾场）.
93 3. Adjective----verb conversion:Verbs converted from adjectives fall into two groups: (a) Intransitive verbs meaning “to be, become, the quality denoted by the adjective,” such as pale, slim, sour, mellow（成熟）, dim (out) and idle (away). (b) Transitive verbs meaning “to cause someone or something to be, become, the quality denoted by the adjective,” such as bare（使…赤裸）, blunt（使迟钝）, busy (oneself), free, right, smooth (out) and warm. Many verbs may belong to both these groups, e.g. calm (down), clear, cool, dry, dirty, empty, narrow, slow (down) and sober (up)（使醒酒）.
94 4. Adjective----noun conversion:(a) Partial conversion: Some adjectives are used as nouns when preceded by the definite article such as the poor, the wounded; yet these converted nouns take on only some of the feature of the noun; i.e. they do not take plural and genitive inflections, nor can they be preceded by determiners like a, this, my, etc. Therefore, such adjective to noun conversion is partial. This partial conversion may be subdivided into following groups:
95 1) “Adjectives (including participles) denoting a quality or a state common to a group of people may be used without an accompanying noun to denoting such people as a group.” e.g. This is a school for the deaf and the blind. The poor were oppressed by the rich during pre-liberation days. 2) Adjective ending in -sh, -se and -ch denote peoples of a nation when they are preceded by the definite article: e.g. In former days the English and the Scotch were often at war. 3) Adjectives denoting a quality in the abstract may be used as nouns, preceded by the definite article. e.g. Mary has a strong dislike for the sentimental.
96 4) Adverbial superlatives are sometimes preceded by a definite article and used substantively. This usage is regarded as another case of partial conversion; the same is true of adverbial superlatives preceded by the preposition at. e.g. I will give you a definite answer on Tuesday at the latest. 5) Instead of being used to denote a group of peoples, some nouns converted from participles, when preceded by definite article, can refer to a single person, such as the accused, the deceased, the departed, the deserted, and the condemned. (these nouns are sometimes also used to refer to a group or class of people.)
97 (b) Complete conversion: The conversion of adjective to noun is complete when the converted form takes on all the features of a noun. Take the adjective native for example; one can say: a native, two natives, the native’s language, and a returned native. Complete conversion of adjectives to noun is not very productive.
98 5. Other conversions: Tom went home early. (n.---ad.) I will take a through train. (prep.---adj.) My father was the then president. (ad.---adj.) The department head pooh-poohed our plan. (interj---v.) He knows all the ins and outs of the whole business. (ad.---n.) Is Joan’s new baby a he? (pron.---n.) His talk contains too many ifs and buts. (conj.---n.) She feels very under-the weather. (phrase---adj.) This book is a must for the students of physics. (aux. v.---n.) Notice that the above conversion are not very common.