Unit 3: Words and Phrases
3.7 Adjectives and Nouns
Similar tests can be applied to other cases where the part of speech is not clear, eg. conversion from Noun to Adjective. Cream occupies the modifier slot in (15a) below, but hasn't developed into a true adjective, since (15b) and (15c) are unlikely.
15a.
M
a
d
a
d
M
cream
N
cream
N
H
bun
N
bun
N
15b. *The bun was cream
15c. * A very cream bun
Note: In order to emphasise the fact that the abbreviations for the major parts of speech are capitalised, the words Noun, Verb, Adjective and Adverb have up till now been printed with initial capitals. However, this is not normal practice in English, except at the beginnings of sentences, and will now be discontinued.
