Derivative relations

Derivative relations

1. Our lexicon should include derived words when their meaning is not predictable

2. Causative verbs

   • We can identify a relationship between an adjective describing a state: e.g.wide as in the road is wide, a verb describing a beginning or change of state.e.g. widen as in The road widened, and a verb describing the cause of this change of state e.g. widen, as in The City Council widened the road.
     • These three semantic choices can be described as a state, change of state (or inchoative) and causative.

3. Agentive nouns

   • There are several different types of agentive nouns. One well-known type is derived from verbs and ends in the written forms -er or -or. These nouns have the meaning ‘the entity who/which performs the action of the verb’.
     • Some examples are: skier, walker, murderer, whaler, toaster, commentator, director, sailor, calculator, escalator.
       • References: Saeed, J. (2009). Semantics. Reino Unido: Wiley-Blackwell.

4. Other agentive nouns which have to be listed in the lexicon are those for which there is no base verb. This may be because of changes in the language

   • example: the noun meter ‘instrument for making measurements’ which no longer has an associated verb

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