Worth:preposition or adjective?

Question

I found that some dictionaries say worth's a preposition while others say it's adjective?Which one is right?

Prajwalkr · Accepted Answer

Both are.
Preposition:http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/worth_1
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worth
Adjective:http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worth?show=1&t=1329314557
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/worth?q=worth
You can also find examples of their usage.

Prajwal

BillJ · Answer

AnonymousI found that some dictionaries say worth's a preposition while others say it's adjective?Which one is right?

"Worth" belongs to two word categories: adjective and noun (but not preposition)

It turned out to be worth seventy dollars. [Adjective].

You should make an estimate of your net worth. [Noun]

You will find that some dictionaries list it as a preposition - indeed it behaves very much like a preposition - but there are strong reasons (they are complicated) for analysing it as an adjective.

Its noun use is unproblematic.

BillJ

Anonymous · Answer

BillJYou will find that some dictionaries list it as a preposition - indeed it behaves very much like a preposition - but there are strong reasons (they are complicated) for analysing it as an adjective.

That's what confuse me.Why do some dictionaries list it as a preposition and some don't?I want to know what the strong reasons that you are talking about are.I would really appreciate it if you could just give me some website links discussing this subject.

BillJ · Answer

AnonymousI want to know what the strong reasons that you are talking about are.I would really appreciate it if you could just give me some website links discussing this subject.

Here is the rationale:

Prepositions typically take noun phrase complements: after lunch, in the garden, by a beautiful lake, etc., whereas adjectives normally do not – except, that is, for these four: due, like, unlike, and worth: I am due £500; Ed is very like his brother; Kim is quite unlike her sister; I’m sure it’s worth the effort.

As an adjective, worth is highly exceptional, especially as it licenses (permits) a noun phrase complement, as in These paintings are [worth thousands of dollars]. In this respect it is like a preposition, but as I said before, there is a good case for analysing it as an adjective:

1. Functional properties: It is the more specific properties associated with predicative function that establish that worth belongs to the adjective category. First, it readily occurs as complement to become:

It suddenly became [worth perhaps 10 times that amount].

And when functioning as predicative adjunct it must have a predicand (what the adjunct relates to):

a. [Worth over a million dollars,] the jewels were kept under surveillance by security guards.

b. *[Worth over a million dollars,] there’ll be ample opportunity for a lavish lifestyle.

In a. the predicand of the worth AdjP is the subject the jewels, whereas in b. there is no such predicand and the result is inadmissible.

2. Grading and Modification:

Worth is hardly gradable, so there is little evidence in this area to count for or against its classification as an adjective. An analytic comparative is just possible: It was more worth the effort than I expected. This construction is not incompatible with a preposition analysis, though it occurs with prepositions in idiomatic or secondary senses rather than in their primary use, and this is clearly not an idiomatic or secondary sense of worth. Very is excluded: *It was very worth the effort, but instead we can have very much: It was very much worth the effort. But the sense here is “decidedly” rather than “to a high degree”, and in this sense very much is quite admissible with adjectives (cf. The ship was very much unique in its class.)

Enough provides no useful evidence in favour of either analysis, for it cannot normally combine with worth in any position: *The proposal didn’t seem enough worth the sacrifice it would require…. Nor do the adverbs straight and right provide evidence in favour of one analysis over the other. They do not occur with worth, but since they are incompatible with many prepositions as well as with adjectives no weight can be attached to this. Overall, then, there is nothing in the area of grading and modification that is inconsistent with the analysis of worth as an adjective or that would favour its analysis as a preposition.

3. Fronting with complements in relatives.

Worth differs from prepositions in that prepositions taking noun NP complements can normally be fronted along with their complement in relative constructions, as in This must be the knife [with which she cut it], whereas adjectives cannot. Now look what happens if we treat “worth” as a preposition and front it:

a. This was far less than the amount [which she thought the land was now worth].
b. *This was far less than the amount [worth which she thought the land was now].

In those examples the complement of worth is relativised as which: in a. which alone is fronted, whereas in b. worth is fronted with it, resulting in sharp ungrammaticality.

So the conclusion is that although worth differs in some respects from typical adjectives, the evidence shows that it belongs in the adjective category and not the preposition category.

I did warn you that it was complicated!

BillJ

Regards · Answer

Hi BillJ,
Whether or not worth is a preposition, your explanation is worth reading.

Regards

Anonymous · Answer

No doubt it is complicated!I think that i have to take some time to digest it.Anyway, thank you for your patience and kindness to explain it to me.It's been a real help since I am studying English on my own and have no one around to turn to.

Best wishes!

Worth:preposition or adjective?

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