English Grammar Part I

Prof. Michael S. Boyd

Lingua e traduzione inglese I – Modulo teorico 2017/2018
22 November 2017
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Other types of word formation: Blends
• Blends: compounding + clipping > two free words are
combined and blended, usually by clipping off the end of
the first word or the beginning of the second word;
sometimes called portmanteau
• Some examples
- sm(oke) + (f)og = smog
- mo(tor) + (ho)tel > motel
- spr(ay) + (tw)ig > sprig (rametto)
- trans(fer) + (re)sistor > transistor
- perma(nent) + frost > permafrost
- (i)Pod + (broad)cast > podcast
• For more examples see:
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-blend-words-1689171
Other types of word formation: Blends

motorcade motor (caval)cade

filmography film (bi)ography
camcorder cam(era) (re)corder
electrocute electr(icity) (exe)cute
emoticon emot(e) icon
flare fla(me) (gla)re
fanzine fan (maga)zine
sitcom sit(uation) com(edy)
staycation stay (home) (va)cation
chocoholic/
choco(late) (alcho)holic
chocaholic
 Other types of word formation:
Shortening

• There are three types of shortening in English word

formation: acronyms, initialism and clipping
• clipping (deliberately dropping part of a word)
- delicatessen > deli
- condominium > condo
- hamburger > burger
- refrigerator > fridge
• acronyms and initialisms:
- WASP < White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
- radar < ra(dio) d(etecting) a(nd) r(anging)
- r.s.v.p., a.m. B.C. etc.
 Other types of word formation:
Shortening

• What are the original forms of these words?

mike
spite
fax
cello
shrink
ex
NATO
i.d.
 Other types of word formation:
Shortening

• What are the original forms of these words?

mike microphone
spite despite
fax facsimile
cello violoncello
shrink head-shrink
ex ex-husband, etc.
NATO North Atlantic Trade Organisation
i.d. identification (card)
 Other types of word formation
• Reduplication: knock-knock, no-no, hocus-pocus, hodge-
podge, flip-flop, hip hop, wishy-washy
• Borrowing:
- sauna (Finnish): adopt without any alternation
- groundhog < Dutch aardvarken ‘earth pig’: calque
- borrowing less common today, but historically important
(60% of 10,000 most widely used words of foreign origin)
- Latin influenced English in waves: Early English period, 10th
century, Early Modern Period (1476-1776)
- French: Norman conquest from 1066
- https://www.americandialect.org/nominations-for-2016-
word-of-the-year-posted
 Syntax 1a

• When words are combined they have to make

grammatical sense, e.g. how would you put the words
in the correct order to create a grammatical sentence in
English?
- chapter perplexed the reread students the
• In any context the function of some words helps to
determine their placement in a sentence:
 Syntax 1b

• When words are combined they have to make

grammatical sense, e.g. how would you put the words
in the correct order to create a grammatical sentence in
English?
- chapter perplexed the reread students the
• In any context the function of some words helps to
determine their placement in a sentence:
- adjectives modify nouns: perplexed students
- the is a determiner and introduces a noun phrase: the
perplexed students / the chapter
- the verb comes after a noun phrase in English: the perplexed
students reread the chapter.
 Syntax 2

• Syntax is “knowing, understanding and practicing the

ordering of words”; it describes:
- the systematic ways in which words are combined to create
well-formed phrases, clauses and sentences
- the systematic ways in which clauses and sentences combine
to create more complex sentences
• Parts of speech describe classes of words that behave
similarly in the grammar of a language; what part of speech
is tomorrow in the following sentences?
- Tomorrow is my birthday.
- I hope I get lots of presents for my birthday tomorrow.
 Syntax 2

• Syntax is “knowing, understanding and practicing the

ordering of words”; it describes:
- the systematic ways in which words are combined to create
well-formed phrases, clauses and sentences
- the systematic ways in which clauses and sentences combine
to create more complex sentences
• Parts of speech describe classes of words that behave
similarly in the grammar of a language; what part of speech
is tomorrow in the following sentences?
- Tomorrow is my birthday. NOUN
- I hope I get lots of presents for my birthday tomorrow.
ADVERB
 Form vs. Function
• Form refers to the grammatical class of a word, i.e. what
kind of word it is (noun, verb, preposition, adjective, adverb,
etc.) > morphology
- derivational suffixes that are characteristic of certain word classes
- inflectional suffixes (Sg > Pl, etc.)
- Internal alternations (man ~ men, e.g.)

• Function refers to the role of a word in a phrase, e.g.

does the word function as a subject, object, adverbial, etc. >
syntax
• Compare the two phrases
- the fast car / the company car
- fast behaves morphologically like other adjectives (faster)
- company is a noun in form but it functions as an adjective (adjectival
modifier)
Morphological vs. syntactic description
Word can be described morphologically (according to their
morphology) or syntactically (according to their position in a phrase)
 Nouns

• Look at the following example

- Bad news travels fast.
- How would you describe the news from a morphological
point of view? And what about travels?
• Form: Plural vs. Singular endings; derivational suffixes
signalling that a word is a noun (-ism, -ity, -hood, etc.)
• Syntax: Nouns can occurs in three different positions
- after determiners (a/the): the weather
- after determiners + adjectives: the bad weather
- after adjectives: Italy can have bad weather in winter
(example of uncountable noun)
 Adjectives

• It is not enough to say the adjectives “describe things” >

they are words that modify the meaning of a noun
• Morphology: comparative, superlative endings depend on
whether they are one or more syllables
• Syntactic positions of adjectives
- attributive: the fascinating lesson
- predicative (after a verb such as be, seem, look, make, call):
the lesson was fascinating; grammar makes me happy; we called
the construction grammatical
Adjectives: comparative/superlative

Morphology: comparative, superlative endings depend on

whether they are one or more syllables
 Countable/uncountable practice

Which of the following nouns are always uncountable? Can

some be both countable and uncountable? Examples? Look them
up and discuss with a partner.

stuff milk weather human

snow beer information homework

Italian (as in the

advice grammar fish
language)

news work job research

tea water aid furniture

 Comparative/superlative practice

Provide the most natural sounding comparative and superlative