Patterns of Semantic Relations by Conversion

As one of the two words related by conversion is semantically derived from the other, it is important to determine the semantic relations between words within a conversion pair. The typical semantic relations are as follows:

I. Verbs converted from nouns (denominal verbs): N > V.

This is the most numerous group of words related by conversion.

1) If the noun refers to some inanimate object, especially an instrument, the converted verb has the meaning ‘instrumental use of the object’: hammer n. > hammer v., screw n. > screw v., whip n. > whip v. , nail n > nail v., brush n. > brush v., comb n.> comb v., pin n. > pin v., machine n. > machine v ‘to operate on, make sth. with a machine’.

Instrumental relations also are present in the pairs with nouns denoting substance, e.g. water n. > water v., soap n. > soap v. Some of the derived verbs developed several meanings, thus becoming polysemantic, e.g. water v. 1) put water on, sprinkle with water: to water plants, 2) give water to: to water the horses, 3) fill with water: the smoke made my eyes water, 4) add water to: The whisky has been watered (down), 5) supplies with water: a country watered by numerous rivers, etc.

2) Close to instrumental relations is the pattern: the name of a part of the human body – an action performed by it: hand v., eye v., elbow v., shoulder v., nose v., mouth v. For example, to hand ‘give or pass (to sb.), help with the hands’. However, to face doesn’t mean doing something with one’s face but turning it in a certain direction.

3) If the noun denotes a person, the verb in most cases has the meaning ‘to perform functions typical of this person, to act as a person’, e.g.: father n. > father v. (e.g. to father an invention), mother n. > mother v..

The name of a profession or occupation – an activity typical of it: doctor n. > doctor v., nurse n. > nurse v., cook n. > cook v., maid n. > maid v., groom n. > groom v., boss n. > boss v.

The noun might be collective: police n. > police v.

4) If a noun within a conversion pair denotes an animal, the verb has the following meanings:

а) ‘to act or behave as this animal, to imitate it’: ape v., parrot v., monkey v. – these are the synonyms meaning ‘to imitate foolishly’, dog, v. ‘keep close behind: to dog a suspected thief’, wolf v. ‘to devour, to eat greedily’, snake v. ‘move in twists and glides: The road snakes through the mountains’, fox v. ‘deceive by cunning, confuse, puzzle’.

b) ‘to catch, hunt the animal or to exterminate it’: fish v., whale v., mouse v., rat v.

5) The name of a place – the process of occupying the place or putting something/somebody in it: place v., room v., house v., cage v., bed v. Here also belongs the pattern ‘the name of a container – putting something within the container: bottle v., pocket v, can v.

6) In some cases the verbs made from the nouns denoting certain objects come to denote acquisition or addition of the object: coat v. (with paint) ‘covering of paint’, roof v. ‘cover by roof, build a roof’, pattern v. ‘make pattern, cover by patterns’.

7) There are verbs made from nouns with the opposite meaning to that of the above-mentioned pattern, i.e. deprivation or removal of the object: bone v. ‘to remove meat from bones’, skin v. ‘strip off the skin from’, dust v. ‘to remove dust’. However, the last one also has the opposite meaning: dust v. 2 ‘gather dust’.

8) Verbs are made from nouns denoting meals: breakfast v., supper v.

The above patterns do not exhaust all the cases of conversion of nouns into verbs but they might be considered the most obvious ones.

II. Nouns converted from verbs (deverbal substantives): (V > N)

This type of semantic relations is much weaker than the pattern V > N. It is less frequent.

1) The most numerous pattern is the one where the deverbal noun denotes an instance of the action pointed out by the verb it is derived from: fall v. > fall n., jump v. > jump n., move v. > move n., step v. > step n.

2) The derived noun denotes the agent of the action: help v. > help n. ‘the one who helps’, Here belong some examples with negative connotations: bore v. > bore n. ‘dull, tedious’, cheat v. > cheat n.

3) The derived noun denotes the person who was influenced by the action pointed out by the verb: suspect v. > suspect n. ‘person under suspicion’, vaccinate v. > vaccinate n. ‘being vaccinated’.

4) The deverbal noun denoting the object or result of the action: find v. > find n. ‘something found’, catch v. > catch n. ‘that which is caught’, cut v. > cut n., purchase v. > purchase n.

5) The deverbal noun denoting the place of the action: dump v. > dump n. ‘place where rubbish is left’, forge v. > forge n. ‘workshop for melting or refining metal’. The deverbal nouns drive, ride, walk have LSVs of pattern 1 ‘an instance of the action’, and LSVs denoting a road for driving, riding or walking.

6) The deverbal nouns denote a certain measure of distance: sweep v. > sweep n. ‘spаce covered by a sweeping movement’, pace v. > pace n. ‘distance covered by the foot in a single step’.

A noun can be derived from a modal verb: must v. > must n. (It’s a must), from an analytical form of a verb – a has been ‘person who, or thing which, has lost its quality, skill, etc.’, from modal phrases – a might-have-been ‘a lost chance, a failure’ (He is a might-have-been – He is a failure)’, a must have ‘sth. fashionable or important, what everyone wants to have’ (Cell phone is a must have).

The so-called phrasal verbs also are subject to conversion, e.g. to break through ‘make a way through’ > breakthrough ‘1) piercing of the enemy’s defences, 2) major achievement’, to lay out ‘spread out ready for use’ > lay-out ‘arrangement, plan, design’ and many others. Such derivatives are converted according to the type of word-formation, and complex according to their morphological structure. That is why they are called compound derivatives.

What concerns the verbs converted from adjectives (Adj >V), they as a rule have the meaning ‘to acquire a quality designated by the adjective the verb derived from’ tame adj. > tame v. ‘make tame’, yellow adj. > yellow v. ‘become yellow’, dim adj. > dim v. ‘make or become dim’.

Finally, it is necessary to emphasize that in case of polysemy the words derived by conversion may have LSVs belonging to different patterns of semantic relations, as it is the case with the above nouns drive, ride, walk and also help 1 ‘act of helping’ belonging to Group 1 and help 2 ‘girl or woman who helps with the housework’ which belongs to Group 2; the verbs dust 1 ‘remove dust’ and dust 2 ‘sprinkle with powder’.