what, where, when

[tkacka15]

Who said what, where, and when.

Are what, where, and when nouns in the above sentence?

Thank you.

 

[MikeNewYork]

You need a question mark after your sentence.

Normally, these words are not nouns, but they are functioning as nouns in your sentence. They are objects of the verb "said".

 

[tkacka15]

I've found such a wording online: "The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When."

It is used, here, in the declarative mood, isn't it?

 

[tkacka15]

They are functioning as direct objects. I don't think that makes them nouns.

Yes, they are functioning as direct objects and they form here, in my opinion, nouns (as the word class/part of speech). I think along this line: "Who", a subject, is a 'doer'/'actor' of the action and the direct objects "what, where, and when" denote the 'sufferer' of the action.

 

[MikeNewYork]

What does that make them then?

 

[MikeNewYork]

That is a very odd analysis.

For me, the sentence says "Who said what, (who said) where, and (who said) "when"? These three "w" words are direct objects of "said". The comma after "where" indicates a list.

 

[tkacka15]

That is a very odd analysis.

For me, the sentence says "Who said what, (who said) where, and (who said) "when"? These three "w" words are direct objects of "said". The comma after "where" indicates a list.

I agree, they are nouns: "where" means "a place" and "when "a time" here.

 

[MikeNewYork]

They are functioning as nouns in that sentence. The function of a word is not determined by a dictionary; it is determined by its use in a sentence. Neither "where" or "when" needs to have a specific meaning; they are words that someone said. As such, they are nouns. If I wrote "The baby said googoobe", that nonce word would be a noun.

 

[MikeNewYork]

You are scrambling all over the place. We will just have to agree to disagree.

 

[MikeNewYork]

LOL! There comes your list of "experts" again. Many of us here speak for ourselves. You quote their names but never quote what they say about the issue.

 

[MikeNewYork]

In other words, you were giving your opinion. Have any of your experts opined about the particular sentence under discussion?

Thought not.

 

[MikeNewYork]

That was not even close to the central issue.

 

[MikeNewYork]

And I disagreed with all of them. Please refer to my post #15.

 

[MikeNewYork]

The original question. I am going to guess that your list of experts had nothing to say about the original sentence. As I recall you had a series of words as verbal objects, then adverbs, and then pronouns.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Good idea.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I scanned them, but I did not see any information that was pertinent to the OP's sentence. They were mostly about terminology, and, as you know, terminology varies from person to person and from source to source. But I do appreciate the work you put in on this.

 

[MikeNewYork]

When we discuss the term gerund, we often say it functions as a noun. And we say that participles function as modifiers. The terminology is not as strict as you seem to think. Form and function are not completely distinct. I understand that "noun" is a part of speech, but it also performs certain functions in a sentence.

I see you are back to the adverb theory. I completely disagree, but I will leave you with that.

 

[mawes12]

Doesn't most nouns go after prepositions? What, when, where, who, why, and how goes after prepositions too so I think they function as nouns when those words go after prepositions.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I personally don't care what your choice of "modern grammarians" say about gerunds. The simple fact is that they function as nouns.

"The point is that other parts of speech cannot function as nouns". That depends on who classifies their part of speech. In the original sentence, three words that are not usually called nouns, function as nouns. I think you need to get over your strict terminology hangup. Grammar is not that strict.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I think we should just put this "discussion" to bed. I can hear the other members snoring in the distance.