1.The definition. Words which belong to the same part of speech, have the same distributional pattern, belong to the same semantic group, identical in style and whose meanings are under

Antonyms 1.The definition. Words which belong to the same part of speech, have the same distributional pattern, belong to the same semantic group, identical in style and whose meanings are under contradictory or contrary notions are called antonyms. Contrary notions exclude each other (# sweet-bitter, buy- sell). Contrary notions have intermediate members b/w them (# young-middle-aged- old). With the help of antonyms it is possible to describe different spheres of human thought. 2.The classification. There exist different classifications of antonyms. 1. Structural. They are divided into absolute antonyms (root)- # love-hate, rich- poor; derivational antonyms- # known- unknown, cheerful-cheerless. Derivational antonyms are formed by negative derivational affixes. Among these affixes prefixes prevail. Thus, the regular type of derivational antonyms contains negative prefixes (# regular- irregular, legal-illegal). As for negative suffixes, suffix less doesn’t seem to be productive in modern English. 2. Semantical. 1) Contradictory antonyms. They are mutually opposed, they deny each other (# single- married). They form a binary opposition, they are members of 2-term sets. 2) Contrary antonyms. They can be arranged into series according to the increasing difference, in one of their qualities they are gradable antonyms and may have intermediate members- #cold-cool-warm-hot. Thus, the difference b/w absolute and derivational antonyms is not only morphological, but semantic as well: a pair of derivational antonyms form a binary opposition, so they are contradictories. Absolute antonyms are extreme members of gradual opposition, which may have intermediate members, so they are contraries. They imply comparison, because grading is based on the operation of comparison, the denial of 1 member doesn’t imply the assertion of a 2nd (# young-middle-aged- old). 3. Incompatebilities – they are antonyms, which are charecterised by the relation of exclusion, the se of 1 member of this set implies the exclusion of the other members of this set. They differ from contradictories as they are members of a multiple term-set (# coloured terms –red, blue…, morning-afternoon-evening-night). Antonyms may be the part of set-expressions (# sooner or later, black and white) 3. Conversives. There is one more type of the semantic opposition named conversives- # to buy-to sell, to give-to receive. Conversives denote 1 and the same referent of situation as viewed from different point of views, with a reversal order of the participants. There is a certain parallelism b/w antonyms and conversives, but it seems more logical to distinguish them. The conversive relations are also possible within the semantic structure of 1 word (# to sell- 1) He sells books, 2) The book sells well). The peculiarity of conversives becomes more distinct if we compare 2 languages. They are not antonymous (# Kate married Tom (вышла замуж), Tom married Kate (женился)).

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