Hi
…, so it was well worth the call
Does here (in such phrases with well worth) worth play an adjective or a verb?
Hi Tamara,
Worth in this sentence performs the function of an adjective as worthy of.
Alan
Hi Alan
an adjective…
And in well worth the day!, as well?
(Frankly, I’d expected an answer ‘a verb’…)
OK.
Could anybody give one more example for the structure
adjective [+ of] + article + noun
?
It was very nice of the man to do that.
Is that what you’re after?
Amy
Hi, Tamara:
I also feel confused about “worth”, so let’s study it together, 
(abstracted from Oxford Advanced E-C Dictionary,Fourth edition)
worth:adj, 1)having a certain value
e.g: Our house is worth about 60,000 pounds.
2) giving or likely to give a satisfactory or rewarding return for doing something
e.g: The book is worth reading.
worth:n(uncountable)
worth of something: !) amount of sth that a specified sum of money will buy
e.g: ten pounds ’ worth of petrol
2)value or usefulness
e.g: people of worth in the community
P.S: I didn’t catch you so, why did you say"expected a verb"?
How about “worthy”, be worthy of sth /to do something, both have the similar meaning of doing something value, where is the difference?
Hi, Amy
" be adj of sb /sth" : It is nice of you=You are nice. I wonder if the former is more formal in written English ?
Thanks
F.F
Hi FangFang
No, the meaning of “It is nice of you” isn’t quite the same as “You are nice”.
“It is nice of you” refers to only one specific nice thing that the person does that is nice. The sentence doesn’t tell you any more than that. It’s possible that the person is otherwise not normally nice. :shock:
“You are nice” means the person is generally (always) nice.
But if you add more to the sentence, then the meaning would be more similar to “It is nice of you”:
You are nice to do that.
Amy
Yes. Thank you very much for the example.
worth 2
intr.v. worthed, worthing, worths (Archaic)
To befall; betide
Hmm. I don’t know, FF, why… and I see that Archaic. But sometimes that puzzling worth sounds to me as if it plays a verb…
Thank you!
Hi Tamara
If I were you, I think I’d decide to look at “be worth” as one phrasal verb (consisting of a verb and an adjective). Wouldn’t that help eliminate a lot of your uneasy feelings? 
Amy
Why the truth can be worth drilling down for?
OK…
Hi Tamara,
I’ve looked at my largest Oxford dictionary (the micro edition that you can only read with a magnifying glass) and there is a reference to a quote from 1456: A certain Sir G Haye wrote: if *****, all the world wald worth to nocht = all the world would turn into/become nothing.
So your instinct is right. It started life meaning become, turn into, change status to.
Alan
.
Imagine that!
Tamara, you must be a reincarnation of someone from the time around 1456. :lol:
…or of that great man, from that distant 1456, itself…
Alan, thanks a lot for taking the time and trouble to answer. And for the forum
…Sometimes getting face-to-face with real English (streets, ads,…) – with its whimsical historical way in the background – is a real challenge…
Even in Herts.
Tamara