[Ads-l] The part of speech of it (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill CIV (US)]

CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED



Is it useful to compare to the "it girl" of the 1920s?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_girl


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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
> Subject:      The part of speech of it
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> In various children=E2=80=99s games, such as tag, freeze tag and = hide-and-seek, one person is designated as it, which perhaps can be =
> summarized as the person having the role of making someone else it = according to various rules. Wiktionary and the Oxford Dictionary site
> = say the role is to catch other players. I don=E2=80=99t think the caller = in mother, may I? or Simon says is referred to as it.
> 
> Wiktionary (Caution-en.wiktionary.org/wiki/it#Noun) lists this as a noun = and the Oxford Dictionary site =
> (Caution-www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/american_english/it#IT) = lists it as a pronoun.
> 
> 1. Noun?
> If if it=E2=80=99s a noun, you should be able to say,=20
> 
> * =E2=80=9CRachel=E2=80=99s the it.=E2=80=9D=20
> 
> (Wiktionary but not Oxford has a different definition that probably = works for this.)
> 
> 2. Pronoun?
> If it=E2=80=99s a pronoun, you should be able to say,=20
> 
> * =E2=80=9CRachel is it. It is trying to catch me!=E2=80=9D
> 
> Neither of those work, and the Wiktionary illustrative sentence (which = appears to not be a citation) is, "In the next game, Adam and Tom
> will = be it=E2=80=A6=E2=80=9D showing that this =E2=80=9Cit=E2=80=9D can be = plural.
> 
> 3. Proper noun?
> I don=E2=80=99t think it=E2=80=99s a proper noun, either, along the = lines of Miss America:=20
> 
> Rachel was last year=E2=80=99s Miss America/ * yesterday's it
> 
> 4. Predicate adjective?
> Could it be a predicate adjective, along the lines of =E2=80=9Caglow"?=20=
> 
> 
> The ice rink was aglow
> Rachel was aglow
> 
> * The aglow ice rink
> * The it Rachel
> 
> My first guess is predicate adjective and second proper noun.
> 
> Benjamin Barrett
> Formerly of Seattle, WA
> 
> Learn Ainu! Caution-sites.google.com/site/aynuitak1/=
> 
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CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED

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