FUNCTION WORDS

FUNCTION WORDS

1. DETERMINERS

   • normally precede nouns, and are used to help clarify the meaning of the noun
   • definite article
     • indicates that the referent is know by the speaker and the adressee
   • indefinite article
     • makes clear that the referent is one member of a class
   • demonstrative
     • indicate that the referents are 'near to' or 'away from' the speaker's immediate context (this/that/these/those)
   • possesive
     • tell us who or what the noun belongs to (my/his/her, etc)
   • quantifiers
     • specify how many or how much of the noun there is (every, some, any, etc)

2. PRONOUNS

   • fill the position of a noun or a whole noun phrase
   • personal
     • refer to the speaker, the addressee(s), and other entities
     • are used far more frequently than the other classes of pronouns.
   • demonstrative
     • refer to entities which are 'near to' v. 'away from' the speaker's contex
   • reflexive
     • refer back to a previous noun phrase, usually the subject of the clause: myself, herself, etc
   • reciprocal
     • refer to a previous noun phrase, but indicate that there is a mutual relationship
   • possesive
     • are closely related to possessive determiners and usually imply a missing noun head: mine, yours, etc
   • indefinite
     • compound words consisting of quantifier + general noun (everything, nobody, someone, etc.
     • consist of a quantifier alone (all, some, many, etc.)
   • relative
     • (who, whom, which, that) introduce a relative clause
   • interrogative
     • ask questions about unknown entities

3. AUXILIARY VERBS

   • They are added to a main verb to help build verb phrases, precede the main or lexical verb in a verb phrase
   • primary
     • They have inflections like lexical verbs, but are normally unstressed
     • be
       • progressive aspect
       • passive voice
     • have
       • perfect aspect
     • do
       • negative statements and in questions
   • modals
     • express 'modality', such as possibility, necessity, prediction, and volition
     • will can shall may must would could should might

4. PREPOSITIONS

   • linking words that introduce prepositional phrases
   • single word: on, for, with, etc
   • complex
     • have a meaning that cannot be derived from the meaning of the parts. Two-word complex prepositions normally end with a simple preposition: such as, apart from, etc

5. ADVERBIAL PARTICLES

   • small group of words with a core meaning of motion
   • about, across, along, around, aside, away, back, by, down, forth, home, in, off; on, out, over, past, round, through, under, up.
   • follow verbs, and are closely bound to them in meaning, they are used to build phrasal verbs