Lexical substantivisation versus contextual ellipsis
A lexicalised adjective-headed word has a conventional noun-like meaning; contextual ellipsis recovers an omitted noun from the immediate discourse.
- Both decline adjectivally, but only the second changes interpretation freely with context.
| Type | Example | Recovered meaning |
|---|---|---|
| lexical | больно́й | patient/sick person conventionally |
| lexical | столо́вая | canteen/dining room conventionally |
| ellipsis | Возьму́ кра́сную. | the red one; e.g. руба́шку |
| ellipsis | Мне ну́жен большо́й. | a big masculine item from context |
| ellipsis | Покажи́те но́вые. | new plural items from context |
Read the model
3.19 · Lexical substantivisation versus contextual ellipsis · table 1
lexical · больно́й · patient/sick person conventionallylexical · столо́вая · canteen/dining room conventionallyMini-check
If книга is understood, say 'I will take the new one'. If словарь is understood?
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- Say the Russian examples aloud, cover the model, and retrieve the pattern once before continuing.