Grammatical classifications of the word 'puta' [whore]

Abstract

This article aims to investigate the possible ways of classifying the word whore, which, in addition to its classification as a noun in the dictionary, we think can also be used as an adjective and an adverb. In order to carry out the study, we adopted some principles used by descriptive researchers. In particular we studied noun, adjective and adverb phrases which helped us to identify, within sentences, the class that the word puta [whore] assumes. We also present a discussion about how to consider the noun, the adjective and the adverb, whether as classes or as functions. After these approaches, we analyzed the sentences in which the word whore occurs, through syntagmatic analyses, to confirm our hypothesis that, in addition to noun, it can also be classified as an adjective and an adverb, depending on the context in which it is used.