What constitutes functional shift? And what doesn’t? In this post, we’ll cover these questions, with several examples. At the end, you’ll see a list of words, on which you can try your functional-shifting skills.
What is functional shift?
Functional shift is change in one word class (or part of speech) into another without change in its form. In the sentences below, comb is said to have undergone functional shift from noun to verb:
I’ve lost my black comb. [comb as noun]
I just combed my hair. [comb as verb]
More resources on functional shift:
- Test yourself with exercises on functional shift
Examples of functional shift
Examples below have been categorized as per type of shift. Of these, noun-verb or verb-noun shift is the most common.
A. Noun-verb shift
1. His face bears few scars. [Noun]
You’ve to face your fears. [Verb]
2. My chair doesn’t recline. [Noun]
I chaired the meeting in 10 minutes notice. [Verb]
3. The judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff. [Noun]
Don’t judge a book by its cover. [Verb]
4. The film didn’t do well commercially. [Noun]
They filmed the entire sequence in a week. [Verb]
5. She finished 800-meter race well within qualifying time. [Noun]
The rescuers raced against time to save the trapped victims. [Verb]
B. Noun-adjective shift
6. He is a natural at conning people. [Noun]
I prefer working in natural light. [Adjective]
7. She enjoys reading classics. [Noun]
He just hit a classic backhand shot. [Adjective]
8. The criminal was sentenced to three years in prison. [Noun]
He has been involved in several criminal activities. [Adjective]
9. The book will be challenging for a ten-year-old. [Noun]
I have a ten-year-old brother. [Adjective]
What’s not functional shift?
Some nouns function like adjectives, but they’re not adjectives. Such use, therefore, is not considered functional shift.
10. The bus departed on time. [Noun]
The bus driver slammed the break just in time. [Not a functional shift]
11. The city is known for its temples. [Noun]
The city council failed to meet again. [Not a functional shift]
C. Noun-adverb shift
12. I have plenty of work scheduled for today. [Noun]
Can you finish this today? [Adverb]
13. I’m painting my home this weekend. [Noun]
I went home after the school. [Adverb]
D. Adjective-verb shift
Examples 16 (calm) and 17 (light) show multiple shifts.
14. You’re a better player than most in this club. [Adjective]
Novak Djokovic bettered Nadal’s record of 22 Grand Slam titles. [Verb]
15. There are few rooms vacant in the lower deck of the ship. [Adjective]
The ship lowered the anchor. [Verb]
16. The firefighters had a calm demeanor. [Adjective]
The firefighters calmed people in the room. [Verb]
After the fire was extinguished, there was sense of calm in the building. [Noun]
17. She carried a light suitcase on her weekend trip. [Adjective]
Please light the candles for the dinner party. [Verb]
The bright light from the streetlamp illuminated the entire area. [Noun]
The runner moved light and quickly across the track. [Adverb]
E. Adjective-adverb shift
18. My new bike is quite fast. [Adjective]
The sprinter ran fast. [Adverb]
19. I have a monthly subscription for this magazine. [Adjective]
This magazine is published monthly. [Adverb]
20. The CEO was late to the meeting. [Adjective]
The CEO arrived late for the meeting. [Adverb]
21. We don’t want to work with an outside vendor. [Adjective]
The vendor is waiting outside. [Adverb]
Here are more words that can undergo functional shift, mostly noun-verb. You can try shifting their function while retaining their form. As a side note, body parts (in bold) feature in the list quite frequently.
annual, answer, arm, attempt, back, bet, book, bottle, brake, brush, buckle, butter, canoe, carpet, cash, catalogue, catch, check, coat, commission, corner, couch, cover, cup, date, desire, dismay, doubt, ear, elbow, eye, father, find, fine, finger, fish, floor, foot, glue, grease, group, gut, hand, hard, head, hit, host, house, ink, journal, knee, knife, label, laugh, leg, list, love, mail, mask, milk, mother, motor, mouth, muddy, muzzle, nail, nose, nurse, oil, paint, palm, park, parrot, peel, pen, pilot, plant, plaster, position, release, rock, safe, saliva, search, seed, sermon, ship, shoulder, skin, slow, smell, smoke, stomach, swim, table, taste, telegraph, thumb, toe, tour, want, water, weed, wrap
