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CHAPTER 9: The “major” word classes
9.1. The noun (VISL abbreviation: n, VISL color: dark blue)
9.2. The verb (VISL abbreviation: v, VISL color: red)
9.3. The adjective (VISL abbreviation: adj, VISL color: dark green )
9.4. The adverb (VISL abbreviation: adv, VISL color: orange)
CHAPTER 10: Other word classes
10.1. The infinitive marker (VISL abbreviation: infm, VISL color:
orange)
This word class has only one member. In English the relevant item is to, in
Danish it is at.
Characteristics: The infinitive marker typically introduces the infinitive form
of the verb:
• ENGLISH: to be, to do, to have, to understand
• DANISH: at være, at lave, at have, at forstå
Many grammarians do not include this word class at all in their system.
Instead they simply treat constructions such as to be and at være as “verbs”,
making no distinction between e.g. to be and be. The VISL philosophy,
however, is that every word should belong to some word class. Since both to
and at are clearly words in their own right (separate from the verb they
introduce) they warrant classification.
Potential pitfalls: In both English and Danish the infinitive marker is identical
in form to a word belonging to another word class. In English the competition
comes from the preposition, to (as in He went to Rome); in Danish the
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John M. Dienhart