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The Word ‘another’ Is Not an Adjective
If I had to pick a single grammar topic to focus on for the rest of my life, I would likely choose determiners. I did not learn the term determiner until my junior year as an undergraduate when I took the linguistics class that inspired my subsequent study of all things linguistic. I have often […] More
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Is “Some Years Back” Grammatically Correct?
Earlier today I came across a tweet that argued against the use of the word back in the phrase some years back. Tweeter Darlink (@NW6Rd) stated: “While standing on the platform some years back…” No. ‘ago’ ‘some years AGO’ #grammar I love adpositions, of which a postposition like back is a subcategory. As a closed, […] More
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Why Are <talk>, <walk>, and <stalk> Spelled with <l>?
Yesterday I introduced my 5-year-old to the words <talk> and <walk>. He knows that graphemes can spell sounds, specifically that <l> can spell [l]. But he also knows that letters can perform other functions. Some letters are zeroed. Others are markers. The letter <l> can function as an etymological marker. Both <talk> and <walk> (along […] More
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Why Is <broad> Spelled with the <oa> Digraph?
Yesterday I posted on my social media about the spelling of the word <broad>. I just introduced the <oa> grapheme to my 5-year-old. The digraph <oa> typically spells the phone [oʊ] as in <oak>, <boat>, <soap>, <road>, and <hoax>. So why does the <broad> spell [bɹɔd] (or [bɹɑd] in Englishes with the cot-caught merger)? The […] More
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Word Matrix: Leve
I always misspell the word <relevant> as <*relavant> based on a thinking that <relevant> is related to <relative>. I recently decided to look up <relevant> to do a word study in the hopes of teaching myself the correct spelling. If SWI could help me remember the spelling of <tomorrow> by learning that <To + Morrow […] More
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<*tion> Is Not an English Suffix
<*tion> is not an English suffix. I repeat: <*tion> is not an English suffix. I previously wrote a post entitled The -ion Suffix, Connecting Vowel <i>, and Phonological Markers in which I explain the reason that only <ion> is a suffix. To avoid repeating myself again, I suggest reading my original post first before continuing […] More
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<Urine> and My Phonics Phail
I grew up in the 1990s. I entered kindergarten in 1990 and began learning to read that year. Phonics and sight words still stick out for me. I remember being handed lists of “sight words” to learn to read and spell. I would ask questions like “why is X spelled ABC?” The only answers I […] More
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From Felines to Street Drugs to Zero Phones: <cat>, <methcathinone>, and <ephedron>
You never know where a word study will take you. A while back, my oldest and I did a word study on <cat>. While looking the base up in multiple online dictionaries, I noticed that <cat> is also a street name for a drug called <methcathinone>, which I looked up and discovered is also called […] More
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in Curriculum
A Short History of Christmas Cards
How long do you think people have been sending Christmas cards? If you guessed “not that long,” then you are right. In the history of the holiday, the Christmas card is a modern invention. The first attested date of Christmas celebrated on December 25 was in 336 during the reign of Emperor Constantine, the first […] More
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Word Matrix: Anxi
<Anxi> ”uneasy, troubled in mind” from Latin anxius Note: The base is <anxi>. The <i> is part of the base because two connecting vowels cannot occur in a row. Anxi + e + ty -> anxiety Anxi + e + ty + es -> anxieties Anxi + ous -> anxious Anxi + ous + ly […] More
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in Blog, Linguistics
Introducing ‘Structure and Meaning of Periphrastic Modal Verbs in Modern American English’
If you have ever browsed my About Us page, you will know that I earned a BA in English studies with a minor in creative writing in May 2007 from Illinois State University, an MS in library and information science in May 2009 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MS in English […] More
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Word Matrix: D (“set, put”)
Back at the end of July, I investigated the words <add> and <addition>. I undercovered the base <d>, but I misidentified the meaning. As Gina Cooke of Linguistic Educators Exchange pointed out to me on Twitter, at least two distinct <d> base elements exist. The words <add> and <addition> come from the PIE root *do- […] More
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Word Matrix: Ply (“lay, fold, twist”)
I recently came across a tweet in a Twitter conversation that argued that studying morphemes is not always helpful. A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in a language. All words consist of at least one morpheme. As a structured word inquirer, I clearly think studying morphemes is helpful, and the example of <reply> […] More
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Word Matrix: Stude
<stude> “learn, examine, show zeal for” from Old French estudiier, from Medieval Latin studiare, from Latin studium “study, application,” originally “eagerness,” from studere “to be diligent” Words Sums Stude + y -> study Stude + y + es -> studies Stude + y + ed -> studied Stude + y + ing -> studying Out […] More
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Word Matrix: D (“give”)
After returning from a two-week family vacation last weekend, I found my sleep schedule completely messed up. Instead of tossing and turning in bed, I decided to peruse linguistics Twitter. I came upon a tweet from fellow word inquirer Sally Cole asking if <add> and <*addit> are twin bases. I quickly fell down a word […] More
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Word Matrix: Marsupe
<marsupe> “purse, pouch” from Modern Latin marsupialis “having a pouch,” coined from Late Latin marsupium “pouch, purse” Word Sums Marsupe + i + um -> marsupium Marsupe + i + a -> marsupia Marsupe + i + al -> marsupial Marsupe + i + al + s -> marsupials Marsupe + i + al + […] More
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in Linguistics
The -ion Suffix, Connecting Vowel <i>, and Phonological Markers
To begin, -*tion, -*sion, -*cion, and -*xion are not suffixes. Only -ion is a suffix. A suffix is a bound morpheme that attaches to the end of the stem of a word to form either a new word or a new form of the same word. A morpheme is the smallest meaningful linguistic unit of […] More
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Word Matrix: Galact
<galact> “milk, milky” from Greek gala (genitive galaktos, stem galakt-) “milk” Word Sums Galact + ic -> galactic Extra + Galact + ic -> extragalactic inter + Galact + ic -> intergalactic intra + Galact + ic -> intragalactic meta + Galact + ic -> metagalactic pan + Galact + ic -> pangalactic trans + […] More
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Using Verbs and Verb Phrases as Adjunct Adverbials
Notional grammars traditionally verbs as “words that denote actions and states of being.” A verb phrase consists of a verb plus any auxiliary verbs, particles, modifiers, complements, and objects. In grammar, an adjunct adverbial is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies or describes an entire clause by providing additional information about time, place, manner, […] More