摘要：This paper reports a study concerned with finding examples used in ordinary everyday English of nouns derived from adjectives through the word-formation process of conversion. The study involved, in the main, a close examination for common adjective-derived noun headwords of two first-rate learner's dictionaries: Hornby's Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English (edited by Wehmeier (2000)) and Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary (edited by Sinclair (1987)). The examples collected in the course of the study are, for the most part, listed in the paper according to semantic subclasses determined by the kinds of general meanings (e.g.: "ADJECTIVE person", "Person with ADJECTIVE beliefs, views, or attitudes", etc) which the nouns are formed from the adjective bases to express. It is expected that the examples will prove of some value in the teaching of the English vocabulary in second or foreign language situations.
关键词：nouns derived from adjectives by conversion, adjective-derived nouns, semantic subclasses of adjective-derived nouns
