Suffix -ant/-ent

The suffix -ant/-ent can attach to verbs to create adjectives and nouns. The forms -ant and -ent are variants of the same suffix. They occur in many English words.

The words different and persistent are adjectives. They are formed from the verbs differ and persist. Other adjectives are important and observant. These are formed from the verbs import and observe.

These suffixes can also be used to form nouns. Examples include assistant and servant with -ant and resident and student with -ent. They are formed from the verbs assist, serve, reside and study. 

The spelling dependent is used for the adjective, and dependant is used for the person. It is possible to say that dependants are dependent on those who look after them. Both words are formed from the verb depend.

The affix -ant/-ent is very useful in English. To indicate that -ant and -ent are variants of one suffix, we can use -Vnt to indicate the underlying form. The suffix is a type of affix that is attached to the end of words. It is not necessary to specify the vowel because it can be either. Though they have different forms, the two variants are pronounced the same because the affix is always unstressed and the vowel is a schwa. 

Old English Adverbs

Old English had adverbs that are no longer used in English. They are whither, whence, thither and thence. These forms were used to indicate the source and the destination. Let us illustrate with examples.

The question Where are you going? asks about direction. In Old English the word whither was used in such situations. However, where are you from? asks about source or origin. The Old English word whence was used in such situations.

The words thither and thence work in the same way. To say I'm going there, the word thither was used and to say I came from there, the word thence was used. The word pairs were where-there, whither-thither and whence-hence. The word hence survives in English, but only with the meaning of therefore.

Old English had locative adverbs that are now archaic. The locative adverbs were used to indicate direction and source. Their loss is an example of language change.

Famous Danish Phrase

A famous Danish phrase that Danes often ask foreigners to say is rødgrød med fløde.  It means red berries with cream. The berries can be any that are red such as raspberries, strawberries and red currants. The reason the phrase is famous is that it can be challenging to pronounce.

The first word of the phrase, rødgrød, begins with a uvular fricative. The first vowel is mid front rounded lax and is followed by a consonant that only exists in Danish. The consonant is an alveolar velarized laminal approximant. Following the approximant there is a glottal stop.

The second part of the compound, grød, begins with a voiced velar plosive. The other segments are the same as in the word rød. It also ends with a glottal stop.

The second word, med, has a bilabial nasal followed by a mid front unrounded tense vowel. It is followed by an alveolar velarized laminal approximant and a glottal stop.

The final word, fløde, has no glottal stop. It begins with a labiodental fricative and an alveolar lateral. The first vowel of the word is a long mid front rounded tense vowel. It is followed by an alveolar velarized laminal approximant and a schwa.

The Danish phrase rødgrød med fløde is challenging for many learners. It has the alveolar velarized laminal approximant, a sound that only exists in Danish, and the glottal stop. It also has the uvular fricative and two different mid front rounded vowels. The phrase is exemplary for illustrating the complexities of Danish pronunciation.

Spanish Grammatical Marker for Persons and Pets

Spanish has a grammatical marker used with persons and pets. It is the word a and is always used before direct objects with no equivalent in English. Let us explore its function.

The sentence " I see my brother" is Veo a mi hermano in Spanish. The word a is used because the direct object is a person. It can also be used with pets such as in the sentence I don't see my cat, which is No veo a mi gato. If the animal is not a pet, no grammatical marker is used. The sentence I see three elephants is Veo tres elefantes.

The grammatical marker a is also used with the pronouns alguien (someone) and nadie (no one). Examples include No veo a nadie (I don't see anyone) and Tienes que decirle a alguien (You have to tell someone).

The personal a of Spanish is a grammatical marker that is used before direct objects. It is for people and pets. In other Romance languages such as French, Italian and Portuguese, it is not used. The grammatical marker is truly unique.

Compound Words with Ache

The word ache can combine with different parts of the body to form compound words. However, the list of words is limited. The adjective sore combines with many more.

Compound words with ache include backache, bellyache, earache, headache, heartache, stomachache and toothache. The word bellyache is an informal word for stomachache. In contrast to the other words, heartache does not describe physical pain but emotional.

For most parts of the body, the adjective sore is used. Examples include sore foot, sore knee and sore shoulder.  However, the word ache is used for a few parts of the body. It derives from Old English.