Frank Antonson
Senior Member
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2009
- Member Type
- English Teacher
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- United States
- Current Location
- United States
A friend of mine asked me the following:
I was watching television tonight and picked up a sentence which started to bother me as I thought about it: "Training the dogs is worth the effort." I couldn't decide how the word "worth" was functioning within the sentence. I looked it up online and found several definitions. One dictionary stated that it is a preposition/noun. Another claimed that it is an adjective/noun. Yet another said it is a verb.
Looking at the sentence, I can see the practical aspect of labeling it a preposition, because it is easier to diagram as such. If it is functioning as an adjective, I would like to see the sentence diagrammed so that "worth the effort" is defined--if you don't mind, Frank.
After having found various definitions for the same word, I am curious: is there a good online dictionary?
Any suggestions?
I was watching television tonight and picked up a sentence which started to bother me as I thought about it: "Training the dogs is worth the effort." I couldn't decide how the word "worth" was functioning within the sentence. I looked it up online and found several definitions. One dictionary stated that it is a preposition/noun. Another claimed that it is an adjective/noun. Yet another said it is a verb.
Looking at the sentence, I can see the practical aspect of labeling it a preposition, because it is easier to diagram as such. If it is functioning as an adjective, I would like to see the sentence diagrammed so that "worth the effort" is defined--if you don't mind, Frank.
After having found various definitions for the same word, I am curious: is there a good online dictionary?
Any suggestions?