ANTONYMY

“We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom-symbolizing an end as well as a beginning-signifying renewal, as well as change.”
➢Complementaries（互补反义词） ➢Conversives（换位反义词）
Contraries（相对性反义词）
rich and
Contraries（相对性反义词）
GRADABLE ADJECTIVE:
They can be modified by adverbs which convey the degree of intensity of the adjective.
1. According to morphological structure, antonyms can be classified into root antonyms and derivational antonyms .
2. Rich and poor is called a pair of contraries . Dead and alive is called a pair of complementaries. Borrow and lend is called a pair of conversives. Up and down is called a pair of root antonyms. Prewar and post war is called a pair of derivational antonyms.
What’s antonym? Words that are OPPOSITE are antonyms. What’s antonymy? the semantic relation that holds between two words that can express opposite meanings.
Complementaries（互补反义
词）
Complementary terms are nongradable.
He is very dead He is more dead than the other one. She is the most dead among the soldiers. This woman is neither alive or dead. This woman is neither rich or poor.
Distinctions
Whether it can be modified by adverbs to convey the degree of its intensity or can be handled in terms of comparison.
Whether it admits intermediate members.
(Dickens Charles: A Tale of Two Cities)
Purposes of Antonym Use
Why do we use antonyms?
Antonyms are often used for the sake of contrast to impress one’s listeners and readers.
Morphological Structure
➢Root Antonym（词根反义词） ➢Derivational Antonym
（派生反义词）
Root Antonyms deep-shallow to love-to hate up-down
Derivational Antonyms
happy-unhappy conformist-nonconformist possible-impossible loyal-disloyal prewar-postwar code-decode harmful-harmless
Complementaries（互补反义
词）
In a complementary pair the contrast between the two terms is absolute.
Either/or relationship: the assertion of one of the items implies the denial of the other; an entity cannot be both at once.
Contraries（相对性反义词）
N: fool, wise man V: to love, to hate ADV: up, down DET: a few, many
Complementaries（互补反义词）
alive and dead single and married present and absent male and female perfect and imperfect
Gradability includes comparison: young, younger, youngest, very young, so young, extremely young.
Contraries（相对性反义词）
There are often intermediate terms between the opposites. rich and poor Gradations: well-to-do, well-off, moderately wealthy, comfortably off, hard up. beautiful and ugly: pretty, good-looking, plain.
Conversives（换位反义词）
lend and borrow husband and wife employer and employee above and below
Conversives（换位反义词）
The substitution of one member for the other does not change the meaning of a sentence if it is accompanied by and interchange of subject and object.
“Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of laboring those problems which divide us.”
ANTITHESIS: a contrast of ideas expressed by placing antonyms in parallel positions in a sentence or in two or more continuous sentences for stylistic purposes is know as ANTITHESIS.
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
Complementaries（互补反义
词）
In a literary sense he was alive, but for all practical purposes he was dead.
In appearance it is imperfect, but for practical purposes it is perfect.
Examples
Keep to the left, you are right; Keep to the right, you are wrong.
In proverbial sayings, Sweet as honey, bitter as gall. Art is long, life is short. More haste, less speed. Light come, light go.
Interdependence relationship: one member of the pair presupposes（假定）the other member.
Conversives are also nongradable.
Distinctions
conversives and complementaries: whether there is absolute contradiction between the opposites. conversives and contraries: whether there is gradation between the opposites.
ANTONYM Y
OUTLINE
➢Use of antonyms ➢Types of antonyms ➢Some relevant points about
antonyms ➢Conclusion and exercise
USE
OF
ANTONYMS
by Niu Yuezeng
Definition
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…”