8. Parts of speech
Chapter 8 practice exercises
Data analysis
Exercise 1. Identifying parts of speech
Beginner-Intermediate [8.1-8.6]
Label the parts of speech of all of the words in the following sentences taken from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
Labels you should use: noun (N), pronoun (PN), determiner (Det), verb (V), tense (T), preposition (P), adjective (Adj), adverb (Adv), conjunction (Conj), complementizer (Comp), and negation (Neg).
a. There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England.
b. With drooping heads and tremulous tails, they mashed their way through the thick mud, floundering and stumbling between whiles, as if they were falling to pieces at the larger joints
c. There was a steaming mist in all the hollows, and it had roamed in its forlornness up the hill, like an evil spirit, seeking rest and finding none.
d. Two other passengers, besides the one, were plodding up the hill by the side of the mail.
e. In those days, travellers were very shy of being confidential on a short notice, for anybody on the road might be a robber or in league with robbers.
f. Our booked passenger showed in a moment that it was his name.
g. The guard, the coachman, and the two other passengers eyed him distrustfully.
h. Take that message back, and they will know that I received this, as well as if I wrote.
i. I shall not go to bed till night; but I want a bedroom, and a barber.
j. He had a healthy colour in his cheeks, and his face, though lined, bore few traces of anxiety.
Exercise 2. Identifying parts of speech
Intermediate [8.1-8.5]
Consider the Spanish examples below. Based on this data, form hypotheses about criteria that can be used to identify parts of speech in Spanish. If it’s helpful, use the chart included below to organize your answers. Examples (1b)-(1d) are taken from Como agua para chocolate by Laura Esquival.
Note: There may not be enough data to fill out all of the cells in the chart, but see what you can find!
Glossing abbreviations: CONT = continuous (ongoing action, DEM = demonstrative (i.e., this or that), DET = determiner, DIM = diminutive (a small thing), F = feminine, M = masculine, PL = plural, PRES = present, PROG = progressive, REFL = reflexive, SG = singular.
| (1) | a. | La | viej-it-a | está | espera-ndo | el | autobús. | ||
| DET.F | old-DIM-F | be.PRES.3SG | wait.PROG | DET.M | bus | ||||
| ‘The old lady is waiting for the bus.’ | |||||||||
| b. | Éste | dorm-ía | apacible-mente | junto | a | su | herman-a. | ||
| DEM.M | sleep-PAST.3sg | peaceful-ly | together | to | his | sibling-F | |||
| ‘This one slept peacefully next to his sister.’ | |||||||||
| c. | Tita | la | escuchaba | con | gran | interés. | |||
| Tita | 3SG.F | listen.PAST.CONT.3SG | with | big | interest | ||||
| ‘Tita was listening to her with great interest.’ | |||||||||
| d. | Giró | la | cabeza | y | sus | ojos | se | encontraron | con | los | de | Pedro. | |
| turn.PAST.3SG | DET.F | head | and | her.PL | eye.PL | REFL | met.PAST.3PL | with | DET.PL | of | Pedro | ||
| ‘She turned her head and her eyes met Pedro’s.’ | |||||||||||||
| Part of speech | Syntactic distribution | Inflectional morphology | Derivational morphology |
| Noun | |||
| Verb | |||
| Adjective | |||
| Adverb | |||
| Preposition | |||
| Determiner |
Exercise 3. One way that we can classify verbs into subcategories is through a property called lexical aspect.
Exercise 4. Language evolution
Intermediate [8.1, 8.5]
Consider the following sentences. What is the part of speech of because in the sentences in (2)?
(2) a. I ate my lunch early because I was hungry.
b. Because of the changes in communication style since the advent of the Internet, new types of slang are being used.
Now consider the sentences in (3), which represent newer, more playful use of the word because. What is the part of speech of because in the sentences in (3).
(3) a. I have secrets because reasons.
b. Language is changing because Internet.
See also the book Because Internet by Gretchen McCulloch on the ways that Internet has been changing language!
Communication and study skills
Exercise 5. Predicate-argument flexibility
Intermediate [8.9]
The following examples, from a language called Gitksan, illustrate a property of several languages called predicate-argument flexibility. Explain how these examples demonstrate why we should not use semantic criteria to identify the part of speech of a word. Gitksan is spoken in British Columbia and belongs to the Tsimshianic language family.
Abbreviations
AFF = affirmative particle, CN = common noun connective, SX = subject extraction marker.
| (3) | a. | hanaq̕=ɬ | simʔo:gid(-id)=ist |
| woman=CN | chief(-SX)=AFF | ||
| “The chief is a woman.’ | |||
| b. | simʔo:git=ɬ | hanaq̕=ast | |
| chief=CN | woman=AFF | ||
| “The woman is a chief.’ | |||
| (4) | a. | hanaq̕=ɬ | c̕aw-ad=ast |
| woman=CN | smart-SX=AFF | ||
| ‘The smart one is a woman.’ | |||
| b. | c̕aχʷ=ɬ | hanaq̕=ast | |
| smart=CN | woman=AFF | ||
| ‘The woman is smart.’ | |||
| (5) | a. | w̓itxʷ=ɬ | hanaq̕=ast |
| arrive=CN | woman=AFF | ||
| ‘The woman arrived.’ | |||
| b. | hanaq̕=ɬ | w̓itxʷ-id=ist | |
| woman=CN | arrive-SX=AFF | ||
| ‘The one who arrived is a woman.’ |
[Gitksan; Davis et al. 2014: 196-197]
Exercise 6. Word creation
Intermediate [8.1, 8.5]
Invent a new word in a language you speak and compose a dictionary entry for it by answering questions (a)-(f) and then reflect on the properties of your word by answering questions (g)-(h).
a. How do you spell your new word?
b. What language does your new word belong to?
c. How do you pronounce your word? (Use IPA if you know it)
d. What is the part of speech of your new word?
e. What is the definition of your new word?
f. Provide an example sentence containing your new word. If your new word is not an English word, gloss your example.
g. Identify morphological or syntactic characteristics that support the part of speech you identified in question (d). Explain how it supports your classification. You can make reference to your example sentence in (f).
h. How hard would it be to get your word to catch on? Explain, making reference to the part of speech of your invented word.
Note: This assignment is inspired by Frindle, a book by Andrew Clements about a kid who invents a new noun, frindle, which means ‘pen,’ and convinces all his friends to use the word, too. The new word catches on and even makes it into the dictionary a few years later.
Exercise 7.
Part 1. Modals and auxiliaries are each subcategories of the T category. Write a short 1-2 page essay based on the data below explaining (a) why they should both be considered part of the T category and (b) but why they should be split into two subcategories.
multiple auxiliaries, not multiple modals
inflected auxiliaries, not inflected modals
Part 2. Must and have to have almost the same meaning, but must is a modal. Is have to also a modal? Explain whether have to has the same properties as modals. Construct examples using have to to support your argument. Hint: You can use the data from Part 1 as a starting part.
Exercise 7. Slang analysis
Intermediate [8.1-8.6]
Think of a slang word or a word that has only recently entered English or another language you speak. What part of speech is it? Construct examples that back up your answer. Is it an open or closed part of speech?
Language journal
Exercise 8. Identifying parts of speech
Intermediate [8.1-8.6]
Find examples of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in your language. What syntactic and morphological criteria can you use to identify them?
References and further resources
Sources for examples
Davis, Henry, Carrie Gillon, and Lisa Matthewson. 2014. How to investigate linguistic diversity: Lessons from the Pacific Northwest. Language 90(4): e180–e226.
