1. NaCl

    NaCl Contributor Contributor

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    Expanding vocabulary...

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by NaCl, Dec 29, 2008.

    I enjoy brain teasers, especially those that provoke insight or expand knowledge. I was recently searching for "just the right word" to express a thought and I found a word that can be used...without alternative spelling...as a noun, adjective or verb. This caught my interest and I began thinking about how many words I know that could be used in any of those three grammatical forms. Here are three examples: desert, cork, sample

    I love the desert. (noun)
    Did he desert his post? (verb)
    Desert nights tend to be cold. (adjective)

    The new wall paper had a cork texture. (adjective)
    Cheaters cork their bats. (verb)
    The finest cork comes from Portugal. (noun)

    You sample wines in most wineries. (verb)
    My wife tries a free sample before she buys. (noun)
    I use my sample ballot to mark my votes before going to the polls. (adjective)


    What three words come to your mind that can be used as a noun, verb or adjective...without altering the spelling?


    afterthought: It's no wonder English is so difficult to learn as a second language! LOL
     
  2. garmar69

    garmar69 Contributor Contributor

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    Good one Salty!

    Scratch.

    "Kick up the scratch before we have to break your legs Tony." Noun

    "Don't scratch that Jimmy, It'll get infected!" Verb

    "Figure your math homework on scratch paper." Adj.
     
  3. garmar69

    garmar69 Contributor Contributor

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    Pocket.

    Eight ball in the corner pocket. Noun

    Pocket that knife before the teacher sees it. Verb

    I looked this word up in my pocket dictionary. Adj.
     
  4. JCKey618

    JCKey618 Member

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    Light

    The ghost needs a small lamp for enough light to sleep.

    When you light a raccoon on fire, it smells like popcorn.

    Scorpions make a light breakfast for my son, Ralph.
     
  5. Show

    Show Contributor Contributor

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    Stone

    The boy tossed a large stone at the other boy, killing him instantly.

    They decided to stone the criminal to death in the streets.

    He admired the fine stone walls of the cavern.
     
  6. BillyxRansom

    BillyxRansom Active Member

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    i lol'd.


    Dark:

    The boy had dark complexion.

    The dark, cold night was a blanket in this corner of the world.

    He had a dark outlook on life.
     
  7. Show

    Show Contributor Contributor

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    I could be spazzing out here but I am pretty sure you used Dark as an adjective each time.
     
  8. RomanticRose

    RomanticRose Active Member

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    He taught the troupe a new dance step. Noun
    Step away from the car. Verb
    I'm on the way to my step aerobics class. Adjective

    The warden conducted a strip search. Adjective
    I'm going to strip to the skin. Verb
    There was a strip of grass missing on the lawn. Noun
     
  9. RomanticRose

    RomanticRose Active Member

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    Nope, you're not spazzing.
     
  10. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Corner, which even has a couple of very different verb variations.

    Verbs:
    The Aston-Martin can corner well at pursuit speeds.
    Ron was always nervous that Jimmy the Cook would corner him to rub up against him.

    Adjective:
    Sly fired the cue ball across the felt, flawlessly sinking the eight ball into the corner pocket.

    Noun:
    I had to conclude that Virgil was hopeless, after the third time he painted himself into a corner on his very first week.

    And I'll leave felt as a bonus exercise for the reader.
     
  11. garmar69

    garmar69 Contributor Contributor

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    felt

    The hat is made from felt. Noun

    "I felt a spider crawling up my arm." Verb

    "Gimme back my felt hat!" Adj.

    Felt is tricky Cog, I see why you picked it. I just hope I got them right.
     
  12. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Yup. However, some of these "adjectives", including felt, are really only using the noun in an adjective context, denoting composition.

    How many can we come up with in which the noun, verb, and adjective meanings are truly distinct?

    How about sound?

    I heard something - kind of a scratching sound. noun
    Jake piloted the skiff oun into the sound. another noun

    Ellie practiced the trombone until she could sound a perfect C note every time. verb

    Inspector Gordon had to admit that Flynn's reasoning was sound. adjective
     
  13. garmar69

    garmar69 Contributor Contributor

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    True. And I would like to see some where all three appeared in one sentence.


    I will plane the wing of the plane to create a plane surface.
     
  14. BillyxRansom

    BillyxRansom Active Member

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    I am an idiot. I will try again when I have recovered my intelligence. Please hold while this transaction takes place.











    *BEEEEEEP*
     
  15. garmar69

    garmar69 Contributor Contributor

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    Low


    When a low moves in, the frightened cattle will low and then retreat to low ground.
     

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