“Understandable” derived from “understand”… or “understand” derived from “understandable”? Certain answer possible?
Yeah, “understand” is a word, while “-able” is a suffix. Suffixes modify words or roots to make new words. And “derived” is a verb. If you really want to answer your own question, try writing a complex thought with no verbs or verb-derived words. Note that Steve here didn’t quite manage.
I say verbs are necessary. With out them how can you do anything? We would become motionless blobs of flesh, sitting on a plasitc lawn chair. Drool would ooze forth from our mouths in a never ending stream.
Verb requirement negation. Adjective requirement negation. Noun requirement assertion. Speech difficulty acknowledgement. Speech impossibility negation.
Verbs unnecessary. Example: Omega Supreme. Speech terse. Waste minimal. Efficiency maximized. Badassitude personified.
OMEGA SUPREME!
Sorry. Flashback.
“All nouns can be verbed.”
That’s actually one of the more interesting aspects of the English language… a lot of other languages can’t do this. One of the advantages of a weakly-inflected language : )
And any generative grammaticist worth their salt would say that leaving out the verb in an utterance doesn’t mean the verb isn’t there. You just aren’t saying it.
-fh
Actually, technically the auxilary “will” forms the future tense of most English verbs much the way the auxilary “to have” in different tenses forms some past . If you ever learned French you might recognize this idea when making the passe compose, or in German the past simple.
Caveman talk good!
Og the Sorter: Verbs In Bin!
No, “derived”, in that context, an adjective. If verb, what subject?
My opinion: verbs not as necessary as love. But what about science–and technology? Then–important! The most important of the two, though–unsure.
Just kidding :). (See, I finally used a verb.)
I get my thing in action!
(verb!)
To be, to sing, to feel, to live!
(verb! that’s what’s happenin’)
I put my heart in action!
(verb!)
To run, to go, to get, to give!
(verb! you’re what’s happenin’)
Hell, are exclamation points necessary?(!)
Complex action easy if single character represent all verb. However, context important.
Examples:
I # store today.
I # you with fist. I angry. You in pain.
Language ALLNOUN similar to this. All nouns. # internet for ALLNOUN.
People, removing verbs from sentences does not count as trying to speak without verbs. That’s like critiquing spanish because it doesn’t have any English in it.
Understandable=subject
(is)=implied verb
derived=past tense verb
from understand=prepostitional phrase describing ‘derived’
Next?
represent = verb
Cool! So nouns can be verbed, and verbs can be adjectived!
First they came for the verbs, and I said nothing because verbing weirds language. Then they arrival for the nouns, and I speech nothing because I no verbs.
– Peter Ellis on alt.fan.pratchett