Parts of speech

Dan Tilque

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Apr 12, 2003, 8:57:11 PM4/12/03

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What word is shown in dictionaries as being used for the most
parts of speech?

Inflected forms do not count as the same word as the uninflected
form. Specifically, a form with an -ly suffix is not the same
word as the form without the suffix. Most dictionaries
distinguish between intransitive and transitive verbs, but for
the purposes of this question, either will count as just a verb,
as will auxiliary verbs.

As a target, I know of one word that's listed in MWO with 6 parts
of speech, but unabridged dictionaries (both Random House and
Web3) have a 7th for that word. The OED, though, unaccountably
has only 5 for this word.

--
Dan Tilque

Ben Zimmer

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Apr 12, 2003, 10:29:32 PM4/12/03

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spoiler

My money's on "like". MW and AHD have it listed as v., n., adj, adv.,
conj., and prep. OED has v., n., adj., and "adv. (quasi-prep., conj.)".
Then there are two colloquial senses that are difficult to classify:

* "Like, let's get going." (classified as an adverb in MW, AHD, and OED,
but OED calls it "a meaningless interjection or expletive")

* "And he's like, 'Leave me alone!'" (classifed as an idiom in AHD, not
found in MW or OED-- linguists sometimes call it a "quotative")

Dan Tilque

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Apr 12, 2003, 11:28:32 PM4/12/03

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Ben Zimmer performed an arpeggio on a keyboard and produced:

> Dan Tilque wrote:
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>> What word is shown in dictionaries as being used for the most
>> parts of speech?
>

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> My money's on "like". MW and AHD have it listed as v., n.,
> adj, adv., conj., and prep. OED has v., n., adj., and "adv.
> (quasi-prep., conj.)".

Yep, that's it.

> Then there are two colloquial senses
> that are difficult to classify:
>
> * "Like, let's get going." (classified as an adverb in MW,
> AHD, and OED, but OED calls it "a meaningless interjection or
> expletive")

Web3 and RHUD2 call this an interjection.

>
> * "And he's like, 'Leave me alone!'" (classifed as an idiom in
> AHD, not found in MW or OED-- linguists sometimes call it a
> "quotative")

Ever since this question occured to me, I'm like "what part of
speech is that?"

Followup exercise: come up with a sentence with "like" used as
all 7 (6, 8, whatever) parts of speech.

--
Dan Tilque

Ben Zimmer

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Apr 13, 2003, 12:16:36 AM4/13/03

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He was like, "Like, there's nothing like feeling like a bat out of hell,
like you'd like to run like crazy or the like!"

(quotative, expletive, adj., prep., conj., v., adv., n.)

Bob Morris

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Apr 15, 2003, 2:54:03 PM4/15/03

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>Followup exercise: come up with a sentence with "like" used as
>all 7 (6, 8, whatever) parts of speech.

Too easy: "Like like, like like like, like like like."

ObPuzzle: Correct the punctuation and diagram that sucker.

--
Bob Morris -- It takes NOSPAM to reply

Dan Tilque

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Apr 15, 2003, 3:47:12 PM4/15/03

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Bob Morris performed an arpeggio on a keyboard and produced:

>> Followup exercise: come up with a sentence with "like" used as
>> all 7 (6, 8, whatever) parts of speech.
>
> Too easy: "Like like, like like like, like like like."
>
> ObPuzzle: Correct the punctuation and diagram that sucker.

First tell me what it's supposed to mean and then I'll punctuate
it.

--
Dan Tilque