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FUNCTION WORDS

Function words & content words

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Page 1: Function words & content words

FUNCTION WORDS

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DEFINITION

Function words (closed class words/grammatical words) are words that have little meaning in the dictionary sense but which serve important functions to express grammatical relationship with other words within a sentence.

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KINDS OF FUNCTION WORD Articles Auxiliary verbs Conjunctions Determiners Intensifiers Prepositions Pronouns Intensifiers

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ARTICLES

Article is a type of determiner that precedes a noun.

There are two types of article in English: definite article (the)

The definite article is a determiner that refers to a particular person or thing.

The may be used with a singular or a plural noun. indefinite (a/an)

The indefinite article is a determiner which marks an unspecified count noun. A/an is generally used with a single countable noun.

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Cont…definite article

The can refer . . . back to another noun:

She bought a car and a bike, but she used the bike more.

to human institutions that we sporadically use, attend, observe, etc.

I went to the theatre.I watched the news on TV.

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Cont…indefinite article

Use a before a word that starts with a consonant sound ("a bat," "a unicorn")

Use an before a word that starts with a vowel sound ("an uncle," "an hour").

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AUXILIARY VERBS

Auxiliary verbs are “helping” verbs that combine with various parts of other verbs to make verb phrases.

Kinds of auxiliary verb: be, have, do, modals

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The verb "be"

The verb be can be used as an auxiliary and a full verb. As an auxiliary we use this verb for -ing present participle and the passive voice. Note that be is an irregular verb:

is, am, are

was, were

be, been He is playing football. (aux. verb) The house is/was built. (aux. verb) He had been playing football. (aux. verb) They are fifteen years old. (full verb)

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The verb "have"

The verb have can be used both as an auxiliary and as a full verb. As an auxiliary we use this verb to form compound tenses (perfect tense) in active and passive voice.

he/she/it : has

the/we/I/you : have

he/she/it/they/we/I/you: had (past tense) He has played football. He had played football. The house has/had been built. I have a car. (full verb)

Present Tense

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The verb "do"

The verb do can be both an auxiliary and a full verb. As an auxiliary we use do in negative sentences and questions for most verbs.

Simple Present: I/we/you/they : do

he/she/it : does

Simple Past: I/he/she/it/we/you/they : did He does not play football. Does he play football? She does her homework every day. (full verb)

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Modals

Can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would.

The modals can only be used as an auxiliary. Ex: He will not play football.

Marginal modal can be used as either an auxiliary or a main verb : dare, need, ought to, used to.

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CONJUNCTIONS

A conjunction is used to link words, phrases, and clauses.

Kinds of conjunctions: Coordinating, subordinating, and correlative conjunctions.

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Coordinating Conjunction A conjunction that joins two similarly constructed and/or

syntactically equal words or phrases or clauses within a sentence.

FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)

Ex:

Dogs and cats are often do not get along. (comp. subject)

The old woman slipped and fell on the pavement. (Comp. verb)

The thief moved quickly and quietly. (comp. adverb)

I can see you before two o’clock or after five. (comp. prep. Phrase)

I cannot sing well, nor can I dance well. (comp. clause)

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Subordinating Conjunction A conjunction that introduces a

dependent clause. If I have much money, I will buy many

books. Although I have many friends, I feel

lonely.

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Correlative Conjunction A paired conjunction that links balanced words,

phrases, and clauses. The elements connected by correlative

conjunctions are usually parallel--that is, similar in length and grammatical form.

These are the primary correlative conjunctions in English:both . . . andeither . . . orneither . . . nornot . . . butnot only . . . but also

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Example

Both Mark and I do the assignment. Not only the woman but (also) the man

loved this strange little man. She will either pay for the ring or return

it. Neither money nor power has made

him arrogant.

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DETERMINERS A word or a group of words that introduces

a noun. Determiners include articles, demonstratives, quantifiers, and possessive determiners.

Article: the, a/an Demonstratives: this, that, these, those Quantifiers: all, some, much, many, a lot of,

etc. Possessive determiners in English are my,

your, his, her, its, our, and their.

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Demonstratives

A determiner that points to a particular noun or to the noun it replaces. There are four demonstratives in English: the "near" demonstratives this and these, and the "far" demonstratives that and those.

Example: That book is yours. These apples are rotten.

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Quantifiers In grammar, a type of determiner (such as all,

some, or much) that expresses a contrast in quantity. It tells us how many or how much.

Quantifiers usually appear in front of nouns (as in all children, five onions, a few good men), but they may also function as pronouns (as in All have returned).

Example: Few people visited him in hospital (= he had

almost no visitors) He had little money (= almost no money)

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Possessive determiner

A determiner used in front of a noun to express possession or belonging (as in "my phone").

Example: Their bus was late.

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INTENSIFIER

A word that emphasizes another word or phrase.

It's quite hot today. Ms. Stress is really busy right now. He's my very best friend.

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PREPOSITIONS

Prepositions are the words that indicate location. Usually, prepositions show this location in the physical world.

Example: The puppy is on the floor. The puppy is in the trash can. The puppy is beside the phone.

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Prepositions can also show location in time. Pay attention the next three examples:

At midnight, Jill craved mashed potatoes with grape jelly.

In the spring, I always vow to plant tomatoes but end up buying them at the supermarket.

During the marathon, Iggy's legs complained with sharp pains shooting up his thighs.

Note: but means the same as except—Everyone ate frog legs but Jamie

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Personal Pronouns

A personal pronoun refers to a specific person or thing and changes its form to indicate person, number, gender, and case.

A subjective personal pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as the subject of the sentence. The subjective personal pronouns are "I," "you," "she," "he," "it," "we," "you," "they.“

Example: I was glad to find the bus pass in the bottom of the

green knapsack. You are surely the strangest child I have ever met.

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An objective personal pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as an object of a verb, compound verb, preposition, or infinitive phrase. The objective personal pronouns are: "me," "you," "her," "him," "it," "us," "you," and "them."

Example: After reading the pamphlet, Judy threw it

into the garbage can.

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A possessive pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as a marker of possession and defines who owns a particular object or person. The possessive personal pronouns are "mine," "yours," "hers," "his," "its," "ours," and "theirs.“

Example: The smallest gift is mine.

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A demonstrative pronoun points to and identifies a noun or a pronoun. "This" and "these" refer to things that are nearby either in space or in time, while "that" and "those" refer to things that are farther away in space or time.

Example: This must not continue.

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An interrogative pronoun is used to ask questions. The interrogative pronouns are "who," "whom," "which," "what" and the compounds formed with the suffix "ever" ("whoever," "whomever," "whichever," and "whatever").

Example: Whom do you think we should invite? Whoever told you to do such a thing?

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a relative pronoun is used to link one phrase or clause to another phrase or clause. The relative pronouns are "who," "whom," "that," and "which." The compounds "whoever," "whomever," and "whichever" are also relative pronouns.

Example: The man who answered the phone was rude. You may invite whomever you like to the

party.

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An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun referring to an identifiable but not specified person or thing. An indefinite pronoun conveys the idea of all, any, none, or some.

The most common indefinite pronouns are "all," "another," "any," "anybody," "anyone," "anything," "each," "everybody," "everyone," "everything," "few," "many," "nobody," "none," "one," "several," "some," "somebody,“

Example: Many were invited to the lunch but only twelve showed

up.

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A reflexive pronoun is used to refer back to the subject of the clause or sentence.

The reflexive pronouns are "myself," "yourself," "herself," "himself," "itself," "ourselves," "yourselves," and "themselves." Note each of these can also act as an intensive pronoun.

Example: After the party, I asked myself why I had faxed

invitations to everyone in my office building.

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An intensive pronoun is a pronoun used to emphasize its antecedent. Intensive pronouns are identical in form to reflexive pronouns.

Example: They themselves promised to come to

the party even though they had a final exam at the same time.

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INTERJECTION An interjection is a word added to a

sentence to convey emotion. It is not grammatically related to any other part of the sentence.

In writing, an interjection is typically followed by an exclamation point.

Example: Ouch, that hurt! Oh no, I forgot that the exam was today. Hey! Put that down!

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Exercise 1

1. Is the bold verb an auxiliary or a full verb?

2. I am hungry.

3. They will help you.

4. We do not know his address.

5. My friend Amy does a lot of sports.

6. How much is it?

7. I am reading an interesting book at the moment.

8. Will you be there?

9. She has never been to London.

10. Does he speak English?

11. They have a cat and a dog.