Parts Of Speech

            The parts of speech are usually grouped into two categories: open type and closed type. The open types are also known as “open classes” or “major word classes”. Such classes are “open” in that new words are added as they are coined.  The closed types are known as “closed classes” or “minor word classes”. It plays a more structural role in a sentence. It is static, in that no new members are added to it. The open types are nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverb. The other one are auxiliary verbs, prepositions, pronoun, determiners, and conjunction. To contrast the two categories, notice the difference between the following two sentences:

            With the function words (content words deleted):

            The_______for_________the____________in the________.

            With the content words (function words deleted):

            ____broom____sweeping____floor belongs______closet.

Clearly, the central message can be grasped better when the content words are left in than when only the function words remain.

            The open types carry most of the content or meaning of a sentence and it admit new words. For example, nouns are an open class and new nouns are created all the time. Thus, the growth of the internet has resulted in many new nouns such as blog (from ‘web-log’), smiley, spam, hypertext, and so on. Furthermore, not all the open classes are truly open. Only certain adverbs can be added to the adverb class, namely the “manner” adverbs, which usually end in –ly.

Example of open classes’ words:

1.      Noun

·           Fax                                  

·           Internet

·           Blog

·           Spam

·           Smiley

·           Podcast

·           Netbook

·           Hotspot

·           Chatroom

2.      Verb

·           Upload

·           Download

·           Computerize

·           Podcast

·           Fax

·           Benchmark

·           Cannibalize

·           Chat

·           Clone

3.      Adjective

·           Fair-trade

·           Ballistic

·           Clickable

·           Hyperkinetic

·           Laddish

·           Low-rent

4.      Adverb

·           Automagically

·           Virtually

References

·         Carter, R.A. and McCarthy, M.J. (2006). Introduction to word classes and phrase classes. Cambridge Grammar Of English. (pp. 296). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

·         Celce-Murcia, M. and Lanser-Freeman, D. (1999). Grammatical Metalanguage. The Grammar Book. (pp.15). USA: Heinle & Heinle

·         Aarts, Bas. (2001). Words, word classes and phrases. English Syntax and Argumentation. (pp.26). England: Palgrave

·         (2008). Oxford Learner’s Pocket Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press

·         (2001). New Words. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 3^rd Edition with New Words Supplement. England : Longman