What is conversion (zero-derivation) in word formation? Provide an example.

• A. A word changes class without affixes; example: text (noun) becoming to text (verb).
• B. A word is formed by clipping to shorten.
• C. A word's vowels shift in pronunciation.
• D. A word gains a suffix to change its grammatical category.

Answer: (A)

Conversion, or zero-derivation, happens when a word shifts to a different grammatical category without adding any affixes and without changing its form. In other words, the same spelling can function as more than one part of speech. A clear example is the word text used as a verb: “I'll text you later.” Here, text is a noun, but in this sentence it acts as a verb, with no letters added or changes to the word. This contrasts with processes like clipping (shortening a form, as vet from veterinarian), vowel shifts in pronunciation, or adding a suffix to create a new word. The core idea is that the form stays the same while its role in the sentence changes.