Delahunty and Garvey
the item to be tested. These tests operate simply. Just put the word to be
tested (e.g., defense, kitchen) into the test position, and if the combination of
context item and test item forms a grammatical noun phrase, the test word
is very probably a noun. For example, the fact that [the cattle], [the fish],
[the furniture] are all grammatical expressions shows that cattle, fish, and
furniture may all be nouns.
Exercise
Apply the frame [the_____] to show that apple, grievance, bellows,
invitation, and implement can all be nouns.
Words that cannot grammatically fill this test position are probably not
nouns, for example, [the defend], [the the], [the this], [the never], [the
correctly]. (Remember, a before an expression indicates that the expression
is ungrammatical.)
Exercise
Using the frame [the_____], show that increased, there, also, as, and
generate are not nouns.
From the remaining context items in Analytic Test 3, we can create other
frames for nouns, for example, [a(n)], [your], [my friend’s_____].
Exercise
- Using the frames just above, determine whether defense, kitchen,
activity, active, certainty, certain, beating, demanding, limousine, de-
pend, and luxurious can be nouns. - Create five more frames to test for nounhood using the context items
in Analytic Test 3. Then use your frames to determine whether any of
the following words can be nouns: force, graciousness, amplitude, va-
porize, colossal, quietly. Check your analysis by applying Analytic Tests
1 and 2 to these words.