Download - VISL

Minor word classes
small
closed
suffixes are rare
grammatical
Major word classes
large
open
suffixes are common
lexical
CHAPTER 8: The “minor” word classes
As noted above, this group contains the following four classes: article,
preposition, conjunction, and pronoun.
8.1. The article (VISL abbreviation: art, VISL color: olive green)
This word class has three members in English (a, an, the) and five in Danish
(en, et, den, det, de).
Characteristics: The article typically introduces nouns and noun groups:
• ENGLISH: a boy, an orange, the table, an interesting idea, the first time
• DANISH: en dreng, et bord, den bedste bog, det store hus, de sidste
busser
English has the simpler system, distinguishing only between the definite
article (the) and the indefinite article (a, an). The former is typically used
when the object or concept expressed by the noun or noun group is assumed to
be already known by the participants in the dialogue. The latter is used for
introducing new objects and concepts into the dialogue:
• Wife: I need to buy a new dress for Sandra’s party tomorrow.
• Husband: What’s wrong with the black dress you wore to dinner last
night?
Note that in one sense, English has only one indefinite article, not two. A and
an can be viewed as variants of a single form – call it a(n) – since we can
predict which form will be used in any given case. The determining factor is
whether the word immediately following the article begins with a vowel sound
or a consonant sound:
• a (before a consonant sound): a boy, a cat, a tall tree, a useful tool (!)
page 42
John M. Dienhart