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What part of speech is "like" in the following sentence?
I'm like, "Well, duh!" and she's all, like, "Whatever."
Or is it just an extraneous word?
I'm going to call a vote here - I like both responses since this really isn't clear-cut to me. I was leaning toward the "verb" reply though it's really more commonly part of a "compound" verb, such as in the form "am like (saying)" or "is like (saying)." Then again, "like" is often a comparison, meaning it would have to be adjectivial in usage.
However, here's what my unabdriged Webster's says in regards to my example:
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- interj. 28. Informal. (used esp. in speech, often nonvolitionally or habitually, to preface a sentence, to fill a pause, to express uncertainty, or to intensify or neutralize a following adjective): Like, why didn't you write to me? The music was, like, really great, you know?
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In the dictionary examples, it seems simpler to remove "like" - the questions would sound more assertive and less apologetic.
