English Parts of Speech: Two Major classes

1. In groups, have one member read the verse in (1) aloud. How easy is it to read? Are there any difficulties in identifying the parts of
speech of the underlined words?

(1) ‘Twas brillig and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

Now have a member of the group read the verse in (2) aloud. Is it easier or harder to read? Are the parts of speech of the underlined
words identifiable?

(2) Swath brilliant lep id slimey toads 

Nan sit lep settle alph se wave. 

Ir lively twiz id marmadukes, 

Lep id frogs songs regave. 

What is the difference between the underlined "words" in (1) and those in (2)? 

A class by any other name.

Form-class words are also called content words, because they express the semantic content of a proposition. Structure-class words, by
contrast, are called grammatical words because they serve as grammatical connectors of the content words.

Form-class words are also called open class words. Speakers of English can make up new nouns, verbs, adjectives, and manner (-ly)
adverbs. Think of email, download, online. We can make up new words in these classes because we already know a lot about a new
noun, verb, adjective, or manner adverb from the inflectional forms it can take, from the derivational forms it can occur with, and from
the positions in the sentence in which it can occur. Because the noun, verb, adjective, and manner adverb classes admit new words, they
are also called open class words.

Structure class words are called closed class words. Speakers of English cannot readily make up new prepositions (e.g., in, of, to),
determiners (a, the), auxiliaries (will, can, may), or pronouns (I, you, we, they, them). Most of these classes admit new members only
after centuries of shifting usage. This is because these classes have no inflectional or derivational cues to tell the hearer what the new
class of the word might be. Because these classes do not readily admit new words, they are called closed class words.

Part of Speech Classification

2. Sort the following words into the boxes below: book, yellow, slow, help, walk, light, fool, separate, case

3. Now sort these words into the appropriate boxes: booklet, yellowing, slowly, helper, walking, lightest, foolish, separately, encase 

Degrees of Nounness
(Noun Adjective Verb)

A = Nouns that name persons, place, things (cat)

B = Nouns derived from adjectives (happiness)

C = Nouns derived from verbs (reaction, runner)

D = Adjectives that are also nouns (red, cold)

E = Verbs that are also nouns (help, walk)

F = Adjectives rarely used as nouns (The Good)

G = Verbs used in noun positions (walking, seeing)

5. Describe which of the seven degrees of nounness, as diagrammed above, best describes each of the words listed below.

1. comic 3. scanner 5. diligence 7. seasoning

2. shelf 4. refusing 6. stroll    

(Label them: F D B A C E G)