Phonetics Glossary Homework
CITATION FORM
The citation form of the lexeme is the form that is employed to refer to the lexeme; it is also the
form that is used for the alphabetical listing of lexemes in a conventional dictionary. In English, the
citation form of a noun is the singular: e.g., mouse rather than mice. For multi-word lexemes which
contain possessive adjectives or reflexive pronouns, the citation form uses a form of the indefinite
pronoun one: e.g., do one's best, perjure oneself.
In many languages, the citation form of a verb is the infinitive: French aller, German gehen,
Spanish ir. In English it usually is the full infinitive (to go) although alphabetized without 'to' (go);
the present tense is used for some defective verbs (shall, can, and must have only the one form). In
Latin, Ancient Greek, and Modern Greek (which has no infinitive), however, the first person
singular present tense is normally used, though occasionally the infinitive may also be seen.