Memorize the tests for nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs (see "Grammatical Classes Summary")

1. Be able to break a word into morphemes, identifying each kind (see question 2, p. 109)

Exs: unforgettable, simplicity, agreements, sandwich, puzzles, resalable, desired, reactions, dirtiest, relationships, murders. Is the -en in harden and same as the -en in taken? In garden?

2. Be able to add a derivational affix and identify the grammatical class of your stem and your new word: Example: -er 1) Attaches to verb stems, 2) New word formed is a noun, 3) two examples would be play + -er = player and read + -er = reader

Most common mistake: attaching the affix to stems that belong to 2 different grammatical categories; citing as an example a word that ends with what looks like that affix but isn’t (ex. murder); confusing the grammatical class of the stem with that of the new word.

3. Be able to identify the morphemes in a foreign language and provide "the rule" (see #5, #6, #7, and #15, pp. 110-12). Or I might give you the same kind of problem using English words rather than those of a foreign language. You would use the same method to solve the problem, whether the words are Zulu or English.

4. Identify whether a word is a blend, a compound, an abbreviation, or an acronym– or be able to illustrate each with an example (saying why it is an example of that formation). Ex: FAQ is an acronym because it’s made up of letters that stand for "frequently asked question." or chortle is a blend compressing the words chuckle and snort.

5. Identify the nonsense words in sentences as nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs. (See the Noun Exercise from web page.) Ex: Two glugs were grokking a drumious murkment. (two, were, and a are not nonsense words)

6. Be able to identify the grammatical category of a single word (as noun, verb, adjective, or adverb). (See Grammatical Class Summary from web page.) Ex: personal, blow, stuff, terrible, downward, gooey, crosswise, harden, seriously, kingly, swift.

7. Be prepared to identify, define, and explain "lingua franca," "pidgin," and "creole." Be prepared to identify or give examples of taboo words, euphemisms, jargon, and slang (saying why it is an example of what you say). (Taboo words = swearing, cursing, profanity; not toilet.)

 8. Be prepared to identify whether a dictionary definition is prescriptive or  descriptive.

9. Be prepared to give examples illustrating dialectical variation (phonological, lexical, and syntactical) and register variation (phonological, lexical, and syntactical). I will want to know why what you tell me is an example of dialect, rather than register (or vice versa) and why it is an example of a phonological variation (rather than a lexical or syntactical one)--and so on.

          Ex: "She is in hospital" vs. "She is in the hospital." These are examples of dialectical    variation because one is typically British and the other American (a variation between groups). It is a syntactic variation because it has to do with the patterning of the sentence or the use of function words and inflections.