# Word categories **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 13, 2023, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049 "2023-09-13T14:02:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Deflagration](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ab097/32.png) [@Deflagration](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deflagration)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/1 "2023-09-13T14:02:10Z")
Specifically: I was upset. I am angry. I am wholefully beholden. Where does noun, verb, adverb, bridge fit into these? Bonus question: Can someone point me to a resource to further enlighten me. Translation: Done speak. Speak Good. Not understand speak. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/2 "2023-09-13T14:28:42Z")
In your sentences, “I” is a personal pronoun acting as the subject of the sentence; “was/am” are verbs (conjugated forms of the verb “to be”) acting as the predicate of the sentence; and “upset/angry/beholden” are predicative adjectives. “Woefully” is, in the sentence it appears in, an adverb modifying “beholden”. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/3 "2023-09-13T16:30:27Z")
To be more specific, “to be” (and “is”) is a “copulative verb”. Verbs are usually transitive and pass action onto the object of the sentence - or intransitive, and do not pass their action. (We won’t get into active and passive voice). **“I hit Billy”** - transitive, Billy realizes he is receiving the action of the verb _to hit._ **“I floated under the sunny sky”.** Float doesn’t pass an action on to another object. Copulative verbs simply connect an adjective with the subject. **I was upset.** _Upset_ (adjective) describes _I_ **I am angry.** Ditto - I is getting a lot of different adjectival description. **I am wholefully beholden.** Now I is getting clever. _beholden_ is an adjective describing _I_ and _wholefully_ is an adverb the modifies _beholden_. (Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.) (I too speak wholefully good. Me was on receiving end of 4-plus years of intensive grammar in … wait for it… grammar school.) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/4 "2023-09-13T20:26:59Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > **“I floated under the sunny sky”.** Float doesn’t pass an action on to another object. But — “I floated the toy boat in the tub” is different. English is wacky. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/5 "2023-09-13T20:42:38Z")
> [@Deflagration](#): > > Can someone point me to a resource to further enlighten me. Chapter 2 of _A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language_, Quirk et al., has an outline of the main concepts and categories. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/6 "2023-09-14T01:24:03Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > > [@md-2000](#): > > > > **“I floated under the sunny sky”.** Float doesn’t pass an action on to another object. > > But — “I floated the toy boat in the tub” is different. > > English is wacky. Yes. In the first case, “I floated” is intransitive because the subject is floating. In the latter case, the subject “I” is making the boat float. (Whatever floats your boat) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/7 "2023-09-14T06:05:23Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > English is wacky Indeed, in various ways, but the same grammatical concepts and terms apply in all the major European language groups. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/8 "2023-09-14T21:03:59Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Indeed, in various ways, but the same grammatical concepts and terms apply in all the major European language groups. I assume most languages have “overloaded” words, where the same word can mean multiple things - “Bank” for example can be the edge of a river or similar raised line of earth; or a place to put money; or a verb meaning to tilt, usually during a turn, or to rely (“you can bank on that”) etc. Where things get interesting in translations is that sometimes these word meanings have different translation in a different language. For example, IIRC, _playing_ an game and _playing_ a musical instrument are two different unrelated words in Spanish. (Another example, Putin allegdly once called Trump “brilliant”. That can mean “very smart” in English, but apparently the Russian word he used more usually translated as “brilliant” as in “colourful”, as in “Mister Trump is a colourful character.” ) ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/9 "2023-09-14T21:24:47Z")
There are many verbs in English that have both transitive and intransitive senses, with closely related but different meanings, as in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/10 "2023-09-14T22:14:58Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > But — “I floated the toy boat in the tub” is different. > > English is wacky. Very much so. In that sentence “toy” is an adjective modifying boat. But if you drop the word “boat” and say “I floated the toy in the tub” then “toy” suddenly becomes a noun. Context is everything. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/11 "2023-09-14T22:41:35Z")
Such words are called homophones and false friends, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/12 "2023-09-15T06:19:46Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > To be more specific, “to be” (and “is”) is a “copulative verb”. I think this means that it screws around a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/13 "2023-09-15T06:37:45Z")
Reminds me of the old joke: Why is Latin an extinct language? - The verbs wanted to conjugate, but the nouns declined. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/14 "2023-09-15T13:02:19Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > > [@md-2000](#): > > > > To be more specific, “to be” (and “is”) is a “copulative verb”. > > I think this means that it screws around a lot. Yes, we learned this grammar by grade 7, but later in high school the term “copulative” was never mentioned. English is an incredibly flexible language. For example, we can verbify any noun. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/15 "2023-09-15T17:07:17Z")
> [@Deflagration](#): > > Bonus question: Can someone point me to a resource to further enlighten me. For any questions about English structure, grammar, etc., I heartily recommend Warriner’s _English Grammar and Composition_. It’s helped me out on many occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/16 "2023-09-18T21:23:12Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > > [@Cervaise](#): > > > > But — “I floated the toy boat in the tub” is different. > > > > English is wacky. > > Very much so. > > In that sentence “toy” is an adjective modifying boat. Technically, the word toy is still a noun, but it is described as a noun used attributively (meaning, essentially, as an adjective). There is a phonetic difference (usually). When a noun is used attributively, it is usually stressed over the modified noun. In an adjective/noun phrase, the noun is usually stressed. Consider the (actually factual) sentence: The brown _building_ on the McGill campus is that _Brown_ building. Or consider the difference in meaning between the phrases _French_ teacher and French _teacher_. Curiously, French is actually an adjective. But in the phrase _French_ teacher, it is an adjective used substantively (that is, as noun) but used attributively (that is as a noun used adjectively). Grammar isn’t simple. ---
**Author:** ![anny\_m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/17 "2023-09-19T23:32:11Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Context is everything. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/18 "2023-09-20T12:48:21Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Technically, the word toy is still a noun, … I never heard that distinction. If a word is “used as an adjective” it is considered an adjective. “This is where they teach French.” French in this case is a noun. Someone once said to me that statistics is basically torturing number so they tell you what you want. The same can be said of language. You can torture words so that they tell what you want to hear. English is just more flexible than some, so has to be tortured harder. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/19 "2023-09-20T16:41:34Z")
I’ve heard the terms “adjectival nouns” and “[noun adjuncts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun_adjunct)” for this use of a noun attributively modifying another noun. But they are still nouns, as can be seen in cases where an actual adjective exists for this noun but isn’t used in that context. A _history teacher_ is a history teacher, not a historical teacher, even though the adjective “historical” corresponding to the noun “history” exists. Easily irritable people might attend _anger therapy_, but not angry therapy. Although, as a native speaker of German, I’ve always intuitively understood these noun adjuncts as the English variant of the formation of compound nouns, which are very common in German. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049/20 "2023-09-20T20:25:02Z")
Yes, as I said, English can verbify nouns, so there’s no reason we can’t adjectivize them too. What part of speech they are depends on context. Anger therapy and angry therapy are two different things, thus the divergent verbiage. French teacher - from France, and French teacher - of French are two different things with ambiguous wording. Maybe the Germans are simply smarter - at least, when it comes to language. But then, a lot of English oddity seems to relate to a tolerace of ommitted or “implied” wording. “French teacher” can be short for “teacher of French”. English speakers just get lazy\> As I understand, French for example generally does not accept such shortcuts, but then typically the French translation on Canadian signs is significantly longer than the English version. Our grade 7 teacher had us parse each word in the sentence “‘The’ is an article”. In this instance, “the” was a noun, subject of the sentence. Gotcha!! Another tortured word. Or maybe it’s simply non-binary. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-categories/990049.md?page=2)