The process by which an item changes word class, such as noun to verb, is called?

The process by which an item changes word class, such as noun to verb, is called?

• A. Conversion
• B. Assimilation
• C. Inflection
• D. Compounding

Answer: (A)

Shifting a word to a different part of speech without changing its form is called conversion (also known as zero-derivation). This happens when the same word can function as a noun or a verb depending on how it’s used in a sentence. For example, you can say “I received a text” (noun) and “I will text you later” (verb) with the word staying the same. This is different from inflection, which adds endings to signal tense or number (walk vs walks), from compounding, which combines two words to form a new one (notebook, lighthouse), and from assimilation, a phonological process that changes sounds rather than grammatical categories.

Shifting a word to a different part of speech without changing its form is called conversion (also known as zero-derivation). This happens when the same word can function as a noun or a verb depending on how it’s used in a sentence. For example, you can say “I received a text” (noun) and “I will text you later” (verb) with the word staying the same. This is different from inflection, which adds endings to signal tense or number (walk vs walks), from compounding, which combines two words to form a new one (notebook, lighthouse), and from assimilation, a phonological process that changes sounds rather than grammatical categories.