CONTENTS FEATURE: Is that a noun, a verb—or an imposter? GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions NET NOTES: Captivating Web sites FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn up to $500 FEATURE: Is that word a noun, a verb—or an imposter?      The English language is experiencing the effects of excessive anthimeria. That sounds like an ailment, and to some linguists it is.      Anthimeria is the practice of altering the way that a word is used, by shifting from its proper part of speech (also known as "word class") to an irregular usage.      An executive boasts of the "deliverables that his company offers" to clients. A product designer says she will "text product details to a sales representative" with her personal digital assistant. A production manager says "the company will likely offshore" new product manufacturing. All are guilty of anthimeria.      The executive used "deliverables" as a noun, but it is an imposter word that does not exist; the only proper use of "deliverable" is as an adjective, and it has no plural form. The product designer used the word "text" as a verb, but it exists only as a noun. The product manager used "offshore" as a verb, but it is classified only an adverb, adjective or preposition.      Words customarily can be assigned to other speech functions by the addition of a "derivational affix"—a prefix or suffix. The prefixes "em-" and "en-" and the suffixes "-ify" and "-ize" are commonly used to transform nouns or adjectives into verbs. The verb "embitter," for example, is derived from the adjective and noun "bitter," and "enlarge" is the verb form of the adjective "large." The verb "solidify" is derived from the adjective and noun "solid," and "modernize" is a verb manufactured from the adjective "modern." The suffixes "-able" or "-ible" can be used to transform a verb ("wash," for example) into an adjective ("washable"). Verbs become nouns with the addition of the suffix "-ing"—when you draw (verb) the finished result will be a drawing (noun).      The presence of an affix is not necessarily required for a functional shift from one word class to another, however. Many words can legitimately be used as more than one part of speech without an affix. You can, for instance, serve dinner on a table (noun), or you can table (verb) a discussion. The process of shifting word function without use of an affix is known as "zero derivation"—that is, no derivative term is used.      Not all words can change classes so easily, however. The term for another piece of furniture, "desk," exists only as a noun; you can't "desk" a discussion or anything else. Dictionaries are the arbiters of the acceptable parts of speech for each word. But adherence to the rules governing word class is on a sharp decline as people bend or ignore rules and adapt unconventional uses that spread through work environments like computer viruses.      Here are 30 example sentences to test your ability to distinguish between legitimate and nonstandard uses of prevalent words. Hint: words in CAPITAL LETTERS are used acceptably in nine of the sentences, and improperly in nine others. Use of capitalized terms in the remaining 12 sentences is questionable, however, because of differences in interpretation among dictionaries. The benefits office has identified several ways to INCENTIVIZE employees to reduce absences. A disturbing DISCONNECT between the company's product development policies and marketplace realities has become apparent. The planning commission members excused themselves briefly from the city council meeting to CONFERENCE outside. We will recycle that scrap metal, but we'll LANDFILL the old logs. The new purchasing procedures ADVANTAGE larger suppliers. The Peace Corps' campus representative will OFFICE in Thompson Hall and report to the director of international education. The agency favors foster parent applicants who previously have PARENTED or cared for children in some capacity. The organization's attorney is WORDSMITHING a draft. The agency is helping growers to TRANSITION to organic production. Cooking contest rules state that chefs must SOURCE all of the ingredients within the county. Sharon said she welcomes the opportunity to MENTOR children. In our analysis, we are EFFORTING to determine the cause of the decline in water quality. The report will BENCHMARK business processes, including average order processing time, average margins, inventory turnover and average sales per employee. Ellen was TASKED to analyze the competition. Each entry point in the building is ALARMED after business hours to detect unauthorized intrusion. A team composed of senior officers was formed to hold an OFFSITE to discuss and recommend appropriate action. The bank has begun TRIALING a new voice-recognition system to ease telephone account access for customers. School administrators encourage parents to PARTNER with their child's teacher. We can help the company diversify by LEVERAGING our office leasing experience. We must seek ways to NORM the data with other agencies that have conducted similar surveys. The police department rerouted traffic until construction crews UPRIGHTED the fallen crane. He REFERENCED a previous variance granted in 1996 that authorized 15-foot setbacks. After making their presentation, the consultants DIALOGUED with interested business owners. Do not SEWER melted agar, which will congeal and then clog the pipes. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first people to SUMMIT Mt. Everest. The underwater seismic survey was PURPOSED to delineate faulted zones and evaluate the physical properties of the bedrock. Frank, can you STATUS us on the fund-raising campaign? If you were not the instructor for the last lesson, please INTERFACE with the previous instructor before class starts. She ARCHITECTED Web-based content management, electronic learning and electronic commerce systems for dozens of companies. The legislation will SUNSET the state Acupuncture Board, and replace it with a bureau within the Department of Consumer Affairs.      Acceptability of terms that have undergone the anthimeria process can be validated by entries in the Merriam-Webster OnLine Dictionary, the American Heritage Dictionary or the Oxford Online Dictionary.      We checked each of the example words in all three dictionaries. Here are the results. INCENTIVIZE: acceptable. All three dictionaries we consulted show this word as a transitive verb meaning "to provide with or offer incentives" or "to motivate." DISCONNECT: questionable. It's classified only as a verb by the Oxford Online Dictionary; but Merriam-Webster and American Heritage say it also can be used as a noun meaning "a disparity" or "a lack of or break in connection, consistency or agreement." CONFERENCE: improper. All three dictionaries say it exists only as a noun; "confer" is the proper verb. LANDFILL: questionable. Merriam-Webster and Oxford regard "landfill" only as a noun; but American Heritage says it can be used as a transitive verb meaning "to dispose of (waste material) in a landfill" or "to fill in or reclaim (land) by this method," and as an intransitive verb meaning "to dispose of refuse or reclaim land by filling in low-lying ground." ADVANTAGE: acceptable. Can be used either as a noun or as a transitive verb meaning "to benefit" or "to give an advantage to." OFFICE: improper. All three dictionaries say it exists only as a noun. PARENT: acceptable. It may be used as a noun or transitive verb meaning "to be or act as the parent of," according to all three dictionaries. In addition, American Heritage says it also may be used as an intransitive verb meaning "to act as a parent." WORDSMITH: improper. It exists only in noun form, according to all three dictionaries. TRANSITION: questionable. Merriam-Webster and Oxford consider it only a noun, but American Heritage allows its use as an intransitive verb that means "to make a transition." SOURCE: acceptable. All three dictionaries say that "source" can be a noun, adjective or a transitive verb meaning either "to specify the origin of something" or "to obtain from a source." MENTOR: questionable. Oxford shows it only as a noun; but Merriam-Webster and American Heritage say it also may be used as a transitive or intransitive verb that means "to serve as a trusted counselor or teacher." EFFORT: improper. All three dictionaries say it is only a noun. BENCHMARK: questionable. Merriam-Webster and Oxford say that "benchmark" may be used only as a noun, but American Heritage says it also can be used as a transitive verb meaning "to measure (a rival's product) according to specified standards in order to compare it with and improve one's own product." TASK: acceptable. All three dictionaries say that "task" can be a noun or a transitive verb meaning either "to assign a task to" or "to overburden with labor" (as in "tasks his mind with petty details"). ALARM: questionable. While "alarm" can be a noun or transitive verb that means "to frighten" or "to warn," it cannot be used to mean "to equip with an alarm," according to Merriam-Webster and American Heritage. The Compact Oxford English Dictionary disagrees, however, saying that such use is acceptable. OFFSITE: improper. The term exists not as a single word, but as the hyphenated modifier "off-site," which can be used as an adjective or adverb—not as a noun. TRIAL: questionable. Merriam-Webster and American Heritage show "trial" only as a noun or adjective. Oxford, however, says it also can be used as a transitive verb meaning "to test (something) to assess its suitability or performance." PARTNER: acceptable. All three dictionaries approve of "partner" as a noun, a transitive verb meaning "to join or associate with another as partner" or "to provide with a partner," and an intransitive verb meaning "to perform as a partner." LEVERAGE: questionable. Oxford lists it only as a noun; but Merriam-Webster and American Heritage also show it as a transitive verb meaning "to provide (a company, for example) with leverage; to supplement (money, for example) with leverage; or to improve or enhance." NORM: improper. This word has only a noun form, according to all three dictionaries. UPRIGHT: questionable. It may be used only as an adjective, adverb or noun, according to Merriam-Webster and Oxford, but American Heritage says it also can function as a transitive verb meaning "to restore to an upright position." REFERENCE: acceptable. All three dictionaries approve of "reference" as a noun, adjective or transitive verb meaning "to supply with references" or "to cite as a reference." DIALOGUE: questionable. Merriam-Webster regards it only as a noun; but American Heritage and Oxford say it also can be used as a transitive verb meaning "to express as or in a dialogue" or as an intransitive verb meaning "to converse in a dialogue." SEWER: improper. This is only a noun, according to all three dictionaries. SUMMIT: questionable. Oxford considers it only a noun, but Merriam-Webster says it also can be used as an intransitive verb meaning "to participate in a summit conference." American Heritage says it additionally can be used as a transitive verb meaning "to climb to the summit of (a mountain)." PURPOSE: acceptable. All three dictionaries have determined that "purpose" can function not only as a noun, but also as a transitive verb meaning "to propose as an aim" or "to have as an objective." STATUS: improper. All three dictionaries say that "status" exists only as a noun. INTERFACE: acceptable. All three dictionaries say it can be a noun or a verb—with transitive senses meaning "to connect by means of an interface" (as in "interface a lathe and a computer") or "to serve as an interface for," or intransitive senses meaning "to interact or coordinate smoothly." ARCHITECT: questionable. Merriam-Webster and American Heritage classify "architect" only as a noun; however, Oxford says it also can be used as a verb in a computing context meaning "to design and make (a program or system)." SUNSET: improper. All three dictionaries say it may be used only as a noun or adjective.)      As the English language has continued to evolve, once-denounced terms and usages gradually have gained acceptance. For example, use of the word "contact" as a verb was shunned for many years, but is now approved by most—yet not all—members of dictionary usage panels. The same is true of the gradual acceptance of use of the noun "access" as a verb.      Toying with the language can result in concoction of whimsical, even clever terms. Those who routinely apply nouns as verbs in defiance of convention defend it as a creative and time-saving practice. Many people who respect the conventions of the language still wince at such uses, however. Our advice: have fun fiddling with the language in casual conversation or informal notes, but adhere to semantic and grammatical rules in business communication if you want to be taken seriously by people who admire and respect propriety. Yes! EditPros can help assure proper word function in your documents. GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions Renee Hutcheon submitted this month's question:      "I'm back at school (after 20+ years) working on my master's and I'm unsure as to which 'literary device' this sentence might be: 'If you were stupid enough to ask your question again there would be the loudest quiet in the world coming from Momma.' Is it irony, metaphor, or paradox?" The grammar coach replies:           Irony is a literary device, often closely related to sarcasm, to express incongruity between two ideas—one of which may be the precise opposite of the literal meaning (example: "Oh, Al Capone was a real peach"). Irony also can refer to an expression that sets up a deliberate contrast between a superficial, seemingly innocuous statement, and its concealed intended meaning—or between expectations and contradictory actual results (as in, "we are the people that our parents warned us about").      A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one object or concept is substituted for another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (examples: "Bill's syrupy adulation"; "Debra stood out at the tea party with her char-broiled hairdo").      Paradox involves self-contradiction. It makes use of a statement that is seemingly contradictory or nonsensical, yet is true (example: "standing at attention for an hour is more tiring than walking"). It also can refer to a self-contradictory statement that on the surface seems true, but on closer examination turns out otherwise. Here's a paradoxical statement: "we spent some time alone together."      Renee's example statement does not involve metaphor because one word is not substituting for another. Nor is it ironic. However, it does set up a self-contradictory framework, using "loudest" as a modifier of "quiet"—therefore, the example statement is paradoxical.      Thanks for submitting your question, Renee!      Are you perplexed by some aspect of grammar or word usage? Don't be shy! Ask the "grammar coach" at EditPros and we'll try to help—at no charge, just for the sport of it. NET NOTES: Captivating Internet resources City-to-city cost-of-living comparison      If you're thinking of moving from Dayton to Denver, or Buffalo to Bogalusa—or between any other two American cities this summer, you might want to first check this Web site, operated by the National Association of Realtors. Click on the "cost-of-living comparison" in the middle column under the "where" subheading. First select a pair of states; when those are displayed, choose a city for each. The site will display the salary you'll need in your intended destination city in comparison with your present income level to maintain your existing quality of life. You'll find many other useful resources on this site as well. IPO Central      Track companies conducting initial public offerings (IPOs) at IPO Central, maintained by Hoovers OnLine. Learn which companies have proposed testing IPO waters and which already have taken the plunge with an IPO filing. You also can check IPO pricings and monitor the performance of IPO companies. eHow.com "how-to" manual      Would you like some tips for cleaning your clothes while traveling? Are you unsure about the proper way to select and present wine to a party host? Want to know how to choose the right baby bottle? Or are you more interested in learning how to cope with "empty nest" syndrome? 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