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Glite Dictionary
form class

form class

6.9
A group of words that do the same job in grammar, like a noun or verb
  • noun
  • /fɔrm klæs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : clase de forma
  • In English grammar, the term form class refers to groups of words that function similarly, including nouns, verbs, and adjectives.

Examples

  • Understanding the different form classes in a language can help learners identify how words can change depending on their role in a sentence.

  • Each form class includes words that share a grammatical role, such as action words in the verb category.

  • The word "teacher" was woefully inadequate in describing what Stephen Smith was to the Fifth Form class.

    Fiction book (1994)

Synonyms

part of speech
vsform class
  • Specialized
1 3.5

A class of words like noun, verb, or adjective

is the same grouping idea but named by a different term
word class
vsform class
3.9

A group of words with the same role in a sentence, like noun or verb

is a different term for the same grammatical category
syntactic category
vsform class
  • Specialized
7.4

A group of words that work the same in a sentence, like noun or verb

focuses on grouping by grammatical function rather than shared properties
major form class
vsform class
  • Specialized
7.7

A main group of words like nouns, verbs, and adjectives that show a word's role in a sentence

is any category grouped by grammatical function, not only traditional main ones
grammatical category
vsform class
  • Specialized
5.7

A group of words that share grammar features like tense or number

groups words by grammatical function rather than by features like tense gender or number

Surface Forms

class singular
classes plural

Morphology

form + class

The compound is built from 'form' (type/shape) + 'class' (category), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a category defined by form. However, the phrase is somewhat technical (specific to linguistic categorization of words) and the precise sense 'category of words by grammatical function' may not be fully predictable without exposure, so it is not fully transparent.

Etymology

Form class may come from the simple picture of a classroom where words with the same form or job sit in the same class. So, it means a group of words joined by their grammar role, like 'noun' or 'verb'.