Function Word Classes
PDCE I- Fernández/Modinger
2020
Agenda
● The structure and function of function words: determiners, pronouns,
auxiliary verbs, prepositions, adverbial particles, coordinating and
subordinating conjuctions
● Special classes of words
Function Words
They can be categorized in different classes:
DETERMINERS
PRONOUNS
AUXILIARY VERBS
PREPOSITIONS
ADVERBIAL PARTICLES
CONJUNCTIONS
Determiners
Determiners PRECEDE a noun, and are used to help clarify the meaning of the noun.
The most important are:
• THE DEFINITE ARTICLE (the) e.g. The class (DD +N)
• INDEFINITE ARTICLE (a/an) e.g. A class (ID+N)
• DEMONSTRATIVE DETERMINERS (this/that, these/those) e.g. That class (DD+N)
• POSSESSIVE DETERMINERS(my/your/its/his/her/their/our/ e.g. My class (PD+N)
• QUANTIFIERS (many, some, any, most …) e.g. Some classes (ID+N)
Pronouns
Pronouns fill the position of a noun or a whose noun phrase. The reference of a
pronoun is usually made clear by its context. There are major classes of pronouns:
☑ Personal pronouns e.g. It´s my class.
☑ Demonstrative Pronouns e.g This is the class.
☑Reflexive pronouns e.g. I teach myself.
☑Reciprocal pronouns e.g. We should understand each other.
☑ Possessive Pronouns e.g This class is yours.
☑ Indefinite Pronouns e.g Everybody has the right to study.
☑ Relative Pronouns: e.g He is who should naswer the question.
☑Interrogative pronouns e.g Who is she?
Auxiliary Verbs
The are two kinds of auxiliary verbs:
primary auxiliaries (be,do,have in all their
forms) and modal auxiliaries. Both are
auxiliary verbs in the sense that they are
added to a main verb to help build verb
phrase.
Auxiliary verbs precede the main or
lexical verb in a verb phrase: will arrive,
has arrived, is arriving, may be arriving etc.
Primary Auxiliaries There are three primary auxiliaries:
BE, HAVE, and DO. They have
inflections like lexical verbs, but are
normally unstressed. The same
BASE PRES. PAST ING- ED-
verbs BE, HAVE, and DO can also
TENSE TENSE PARTICIP PARTICiP. act as main verbs.
.
be is are was, being been
am were
E.g.
have has, had having had I´m a teacher. (BE as main verb)
have
I´m taking yoga classes this semester.
do do, does did doing done (BE as aux. verb)
Modal Auxiliaries WILL CAN SHALL MAY
WOULD COULD SHOULD MIGHT
There are nine modal auxiliary verbs.
As their name suggests, they are
largely concerned with expressing Each modal is the lower row is
“modality”, such as possibility, historically the past tense of the modal
necessity, prediction, and volition. The directly above it. MUST has no
modals are: matching historical past tense.
WILL, CAN, SHALL, MAY, MUST, Modals can be regarded as invariable
WOULD, COULD, SHOULD, and MIGHT. function words, with no inflections such
as -ing and -ed.
Modals occur as the first verb in a clause
and are followed by the base form of
another verb, usually the main verb
(underlined below):
I can live here quietly.
They would have a different view.
The 1st AUXILIARY VERB (either primary or modal) in a verb phrase is called OPERATOR
E.g.
We should be patient. (MODAL VERB (operator): SHOULD + MAIN VERB: BE)
You´re working well. (PRIMARY AUX (operator): ARE + MAIN VERB: WORKING)
They may have been working a lot. ( MODAL VERB (operator): MAY + PRIMARY AUX:
HAVE+PRIMARY AUX: BEEN+ MAIN VERB: WORKING)
Prepositions are linking words that
Prepositions introduce prepositional phrases. The
prepositional complement following
a preposition is generally a noun
phrase, so prepositions can also be
seen as linking words that connect
other structures with noun phrases.
E.g.:
Eleven fifty with the tip.
She's in a new situation.
That picture of my mother
He's still on the phone
Most prepositions are short, invariable forms: e.g.:
about, after, around, as, at, by, down, for, from etc.
TASK #1: Highlight the preposition and underline the noun
phrase functioning as a prepositional complement:
1. He´ll go with one of the kids.
2. Late one morning in June, in the thirty-first year year of his
life, a message was brought to Michael K as he raked leaves in
the De Waal Park.
Now, check your answers: The preposition is in bold, and the
prepositional phrase it introduces is enclosed in ( ). The noun phrase
functioning as a prepositional complement is underlined.
1. He´ll go (with one of the kids).
1. Late one morning (in June), (in the thirty-first year of his life), a message was
brought (to Michael K) as he raked leaves (in the Waal Park).
Prepositions can be linked to a preceding verb, such as rely on and
confide in.
E.g.
You can´t, you can't rely on any of that information.
She confided in him above all others.
Complex Prepositions
Another set of preposition consists
ENDING IN EXAMPLES
of multi-word units known as
As such as complex prepositions, which have a
for as for, except for meaning that cannot be derived from
from apart from the meaning of the parts. Two- word
of because of, instead of, complex prepositions normally end
out of, regardless of
up with a simple preposition.
to according to, due to,
owing to
Three- word prepositions usually
have the structure a simple
preposition + noun + simple
preposition:
ENDING EXAMPLES
of by means of, in
spite of, on
account of, on top
of
to in addition to, with
regard to
as as far as, as well
as
Adverbial Particles
Adverbial particles are closely linked to verbs.
They generally follow verbs, and are closely
bound to them in meaning: go away, como
back, put (sth) on, etc. They are used to build
phrasal verbs.
They are small group of words with a
core meaning of motion. The most
important are: about, across, along,
around, aside*, away*, by, back*,
down, forth*, home*, in, off, on out
over past, round, through, under, up.
(The ones marked * can also be
prepositions)
Adverbial particles have been called
“prepositional adverbs”, because of
their resemblance to both
prepositions (in form) and adverbs
(in syntactic role).
Conjunctions
There are two types of words
traditionally called conjunctions.
☑Coordinators (also called
coordinating conjunctions)
☑Subordinators (also called
subordinating conjunctions)
COORDINATE CONJUCTIONS
Coordinators are used to indicate a
Examples:
relationship of equal importance
between two units such as phrases and Mother and I saw it
clauses. Coordinators link elements
which have the same syntactic role, and I don't want to speak too soon, but I
are at the same level of syntactic think I have been fairly consistent this
hierarchy. Thus, in any structure (X + season
coordinator + Y), X and Y are
Is this necessarily good or bad?
equivalent. The main coordinators are
AND, BUT, and OR.
Or has a rather infrequently used negative
counterpart, nor which is used after negative
clauses:
[Link] donkeys did not come, nor did the
helicopter.
Correlative conjuctions
Each simple coordinator can be
combined with another word, to
make a correlative coordinator:
both (X) and (Y)
either (X) or (Y)
not only (X) but also (Y)
neither (X) nor (Y)
Subordinating Conjuctions
They are linking words that introduce clauses
known as dependent clauses- clauses which
cannot stand alone without another clause,
called the main clause. E.g.:
You can hold her (if you want)
The subordinator shows the connection of
meaning between the main clause and the
subordinate clause. In the example above, the
subordinator “if” shows a relation of condition.
In coordination, the two elements
have the same status or syntactic
hierarchy.
In the case of subordination, the
dependent clause starting with the
subordinator is embedded (or
included) in the main clause.
The great majority of subordinators introduce adverbial
clauses, adding details of time, place, reason etc. to the
main clause: after, as, because, if, since, although, while
etc.
Three
subordinators
introduce degree As
clauses: Than
These indicate meaning That
relationships of comparison.
Three If
subordinators
That
Whether
introduce These are called complentizers because
complement they introduce clauses following verbs,
adjectives or nouns, complementing or
clauses
( (or completing the meaning of these key
words in the main clause:
nominal clauses) I´m glad (that I found you again)
Dependent clauses can also be
introduced by other forms. like
wh-words and the relative
pronoun that. These are not
subordinators.
Complex Subordinators ENDING IN EXAMPLES
as as long, as soon
Like prepositions, subordinators may as
consist of more than one word. Most of that given (that), on
these complex subordinators end with condition (that),
as or that (often the that is optional, as provided (that),
shown by parentheses ( ): except (that). in
that, in order
that, so (that),
such (that)
others as if, as though,
even if, even
though
A few classes of Existencial there is often called an
function words anticipatory subject. No other word
in English behaves in the same
have special way, heading a clause expressing
existence:
qualities There´s a mark on the chair
Wh- words, like subordinators, There were four bowls of soup
introduce clauses. However,
they do not form an
independent word class.
The negator not: It is in some ways like
A few classes of an adverb, but in other respects it is
function words
unique. Its main use is to make a
clause negative:
have special You can do this but (you can't do that)
qualities The infinitive marker to (not to be
confused with the common preposition
to). Its main use as a complementizer
preceding the infinitive base form of
verbs:
What do you want to drink?
I'm happy to be here right now.
A few classes of Cardinals: They answer the question
how many and are used like
function words determiners, with a following noun:
Four people were arrested.
have special Cardinals can also occur as head of
qualities noun phrases: Four of the tarder have
pleaded guilty.
Numerals In their nounlike use, Cardinals can be
made plural by adding -(e)s:
Cops in twos and threes arrived after
a few minutes.
Ordinal numbers answer the question
A few classes of “Which?” and serve to place entities
in order or in a series: first, second,
function words third etc. They can be used as
have special
determiners before a noun: It was the
third week after his death.
qualities They can also be used like nouns, as
heads of a noun phrase: The fifth, a
Ordinals man in his twenties, was accused of
stealing the money.
Ordinals are also used to form
fractions (they are pluralized): Two
thirds of the people are unemployed.
REVIEW
☑There are 7 classes of function ☑ English has a large number of
words: determiners, pronouns, words which occur in more than one
auxiliary verbs, prepositions, grammatical category.
adverbial particles, coordinators and
subordinators.
☑There are a few other word types
which are not easily classified or
which cut across other categories:
wh-words, existential there, the
negator not, the infinite market to,
and numerals.