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1) One member of the conversion pair denotes an action, the other member denotes the result of this action: to cut Г° a cut (He had a big cut), hand out Г° handouts, cast off Г° cast-offs.
2) One member of the conversion pair denotes an action, the other member denotes a specific instance of this action: to laugh Г° a laugh (She gave a laugh), to knock Г° a knock, to smile Г° a smile.
Productivity of conversion.
Conversion is very productive in modern English. It is a peculiarly English type of word-building. Apart from denominal verbs converted from nouns, verbs are easily converted from adjectives, eg Adj. Г° V: grey Г° to grey. Apart from deverbal nouns converted from verbs, nouns can be converted from adverbs, eg Adv. Г° N: abroad Г° the abroad (the near abroadВ« близьке зарубіжжя В»).
To express similar semantic relationships Russian resorts to affixation. Cf. English pocket Г° to pocket, Russian В«кишенюВ» - В«привласнитиВ»; English pale Г° to pale, RussianВ« блідий В»-В« бліднути В», etc.
Formation of denominal verbs by conversion is extremely productive. Formation of deverbal nouns is not so productive, it has some restrictions.
There are three kinds of restrictions in the formation of deverbal nouns.
Morphological restrictions. Formation of deverbal nouns is productive with root monosyllabic words: to cut - a cut, to burn - a burn.
Semantic restrictions. Deverbal nouns are converted from the verbs that represent a number of isolated actions. E.g. to walk denotes the action which can be represented as a succession of a few steps, therefore the deverbal noun a walk is converted from it.
Phraseological restrictions. Some deverbal nouns are used only in certain contexts: He is not in the know (В«не в курсі справиВ»). He caught a great take of fish. It is of American make.
Formation of denonimal verbs has practically no restrictions: to star in a film, to beach a boat, to stomach an insult В«проковтнути образуВ», to butterfly В«тинятися по місту без ділаВ», to surface В« піднятися на поверхню В», to rendezvous in spaceВ« здійснити стиковку в космосі В». Denonimal verbs can be converted even from compounds: to water-ski В«кататися на водних лижахВ», to weekend (somewhere), etc.words (окказіональние слова). New words in a different part of speech can be created by way of conversion for one occasion only. They are termed nonce words. Nonce words are not registered in dictionaries, they die as soon as they have been created and used. Here are some nonce words:
Dear ... - Don t dear me! (Adj. Г° V); He dears me! (Adj. Г° V); He sirs me! (N Г° V); - But ... - No buts! (Conjunction Г° N). Even phrases can become a source of nonce words: They my-loved each other! (Phrase Г° V), etc.
Conversion and substantivation.
Substantivation is a type of word-building in English and in Russian, cf. Russian В«червоний, білий, хворий, їдальняВ» - English relatives, sweets, natives, hand-mades, two-year-olds, etc. Substantivation is a type of word-building in which an adjective or participle stem functions as a noun, ie acquires features of a noun: an article, plural form and the form of the possessive case, syntactical functions and environment peculiar to a noun. E.g. in the sentence He is a relative. the adjective relative functi...
