The Major Parts of SpeechA second consequence of prototypes is that they allow us to see similari-
ties between classes of words. For instance, they encourage us to ask ques-
tions such as how is a noun like a verb? This question may seem like a riddle,
but if we consider the two subclasses of verbs—transitive and intransitive—
on the formal basis that the former but not the latter may take an object, as
in (2a,b):
(2) a. The Broncos defeated the Jets.
b. The rabbit disappeared.In (2a), defeat is inflected for past tense and so is clearly a verb, and because
it is followed by the direct object (the Jets) it is transitive. In (2b), disappeared
is likewise a verb, but it is intransitive since it cannot be followed by a direct
object, as (3a,b) show:
(3) a. *The rabbit disappeared itself. (i.e, made itself disappear.)
b. *The magician disappeared the rabbit.Corresponding to the verbs in (2), are nouns that resemble them:
(4) a. The Broncos’ defeat of the Jets.
b. The rabbit’s disappearance.
Note that example (4a) contains the noun defeat (it can be made plural),
which has been converted from a verb and which is modified by the geni-
tive phrase The Broncos’, which corresponds to the subject of the verb defeat
in (2a), while the prepositional phrase of the Jets corresponds to the direct
object the Jets in (2a). Likewise, the derived noun disappearance in (4b) cor-
responds to the verb disappear in (2b). However, just as the verb disappear
cannot accept an object, the noun disappearance cannot take an of-phrase
complement corresponding to a direct object, as shown by the ungrammati-
cality of (5a,b). (Compare to (3a,b).)
(5) a. The rabbit’s disappearance of itself.
b. The magician’s disappearance of the rabbit.
In other words, certain nouns have restrictions that closely parallel those of
transitivity on verbs.
The facts of English grammar thus suggest that the rigid separation of
parts of speech conceals a potentially rich network of similarities among