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zero form

 

Definitions from the Web

Zero Form

Definition: In linguistics, the zero form refers to a type of word or phrase that does not have any overt morphological or syntactic markers.

Sense 1: The zero form can be used to express the absence of a certain grammatical element, such as articles, pronouns, or verb inflections.

Example sentence 1 (Noun): The zero form is often employed in pro-drop languages, where pronouns are frequently omitted, for example, "Give book" instead of "Give me the book."

Example sentence 2 (Adjective): In languages like Mandarin Chinese, the zero form is used as the default for unmarked adjectives, like "big house" instead of "big-sized house."

Sense 2: Zero form can also refer to a non-inflected verb form, often used in imperative sentences or when the subject is implied.

Example sentence 1 (Verb): To give a command, such as "Stop!" or "Go!" the zero form of the verb is used instead of using an explicit subject or conjugated form.

Example sentence 2 (Verb): The zero form is commonly utilized in newspaper headlines for brevity, such as "Police arrest suspect" instead of "The police arrested the suspect."

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