substantival
1
9.7
Acting as a noun in a sentence
- adjective
- /səbˈstænˌtɪvəl/
- Specialized
:
sustantivo
- In the sentence "the running of the marathon was exhausting", the phrase 'the running' acts as a substantival noun.
Examples
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This is a substantival participle which we could render "the proclaimed one" in English.
Blog text (27) -
A substantival expression can function as the subject of a sentence, as in 'His being late was unfortunate.'
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When discussing grammar, it's important to understand how substantival forms can replace regular nouns.
Antonyms
Surface Forms
substantival positive
Morphology
substantival = substantive (semi-transparent) = substantive + al
The word clearly adds the productive suffix -al to substantive, but the specialized grammatical sense is not fully predictable for an average learner.
Etymology
Substantival comes from the Latin substantia, meaning 'substance' or 'being', and is related to the English word substance. So something substantival acts 'like a noun' and has the nature or job of a noun in a sentence.