Introduction

2.1 Introduction
2 In grammar, we first need to identify the types of grammatical units, such as
words and phrases, before describing the internal structure of these units, and
how they combine to form larger units. Grammatical units are meaningful

Words and word classes elements which combine with each other in a structural pattern. Essentially,
grammar is the system which organizes and controls these form-meaning
relationships.
The types of grammatical units can be graded according to size of unit, as
shown below: «
(discourse)
GRAMMAR BITES in this chapter
1 sentence ; wash up all this stuff somebody else can dry it
2 clauses wash up all this stuff somebody can dry
A ^ntroduction to words ^BB / e/se it.
7 phrases / wash up all this stuff somebody else can dry it
> Lexical words, function words, and inserts 12 words / wash up all this stuff somebody else can dry it
>• The structure o f words: morphology 13 morphemes / wash up all this stuff some|body else can dry it
>• Multi-word units: idioms, collocations, and lexical bundles (phonemes/graphemes) (CONV)

B Lexical word classes ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^m^mm- In the simplest cases, a unit consists of one or more elements on the level below:
> The structure and function of lexical words: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and • A clause consists of one or more phrases (covered in Chapter 3, Grammar
Bite B).
adverbs
> Comparing lexical word classes in use • A phrase consists o f one or more words (covered in Chapter 3, Grammar Bite
A).
> Borderline cases in classifying words
• A word consists of one or more morphemes (covered in this chapter,
C Function word classes ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ • • • • 1 Grammar Bites A, B and C).
>- The structure and function o f function words: determiners, pronouns, Morphemes are parts of words, i.e. stems, prefixes, and suffixes. For
auxiliary verbs, prepositions, adverbial particles, coordinators, and example, un + friend + ly contains three morphemes: a prefix un-, a stem friend
and a suffix -ly. The part of grammar dealing with morphemes is morphology.
subordinators
>• Special classes o f words The part of grammar dealing with the other types of grammatical units shown
above (i.e. words, phrases, clauses, and sentences) is known as syntax.
Grammatical units can be combined to form longer written texts or spoken
interaction, which is known as discourse. At the other extreme, language can be
analyzed in terms of its phonemes (the individual sounds which make up the
language) and graphemes (the written symbols we use to communicate in
language). These are the smallest units of speech and writing.
In this book, we focus mainly on the three central types of unit: word,
phrase, and clause. Morphemes are also occasionally importan! in describing the
structure of words. However, sentences will not be separately described because,
for the purposes o f this book, sentences are orthographic (or written) units, and
of interest primarily in the study o f the written language. (Note: in some
grammars, the word 'sentence' is used in a sense cióse to 'clause' in this
grammar.)
in general, grammatical units are described in terms of four factors: their
slructurc, their syntactic role, their meaning, and the way they are used in
discourse.
 Nuliic how, in llu' .liiovc cv.nniilc, il is possible lo inserí vvonis bolwi'i'ii olliei
I 'lili'. 1.111 l)c (IcM in l i T i i i s ol' i h c i r i n l c m . i l s l i i K l i i i f : o.g w o i i i s i n I c r i n s o l woids lo lor ni ii longer senlenee wilhout losing clarity of meaning. On the other
|),iMs .111(1 .illixcN (2.2.1), |ilii.iNc.s in t c r n i s ol lu'.uis .iiul n u n l i l i i - i s anil li.nul, we eoukl not easily interrupt a word, by inserting another word or
i l.mscs iii Icini.s ol < lause c l c u i c n t s (3.5). morplienie inside it, as in *pedal-(new)-bins.

B Rol*
2.2.1 Different senses of the word 'word'
Uniis can he described in terms o f their syntactic role. For example, a phrase can
have the syntactic role of object in a clause: The notioii of 'word' is complex, and so it is useful to identify a number of
slighily different senses o f ' w o r d ' :
In Novemher, Susie won those tickets, ( C O N V )
. Orthographic words: These are the words that we are familiar with in written
In this example, there are also other roles: Susie is the subject, In Novemher is an
language, where they are separated by spaces. For example, They wrote us a
adverbial.
Icitcr contains five distinct orthographic words.

C MeáñlFig . Grammatical words: A word falls into one grammatical word class (or 'part of
speech') or another. Thus the orthographic word leaves can be either of two
Units can be described in terms of meaning. For example, adverbs (a class of grammatical words: a verb (the present tense -s form o f leave) or a noun (the
words) can express Information about time, place, and manner. plural of leaf). This is the basic sense o f ' w o r d ' for grammatical purposes, and
the one we normally intend in this book.
D Use (or discourse function) • Lexemes: This is a set o f grammatical words which share the same basic
Units can be further described in terms of how they behave in discourse. This can meaning, similar forms, and the same word class. For example, leave, leaves,
include their use in different registers, their frequency in those registers, and the left, and leaving are all members o f the verb lexeme leave. This is the meaning
factors which influence their use in speech or in written texts. For example, of 'word' that is employed in dictionaries.
pronouns like it and they are often used to refer back to things mentioned earlier Each occurrence of a word in a written or spoken text is a sepárate token. For
in the same discourse: example, in the following line o f conversation there are ten sepárate word tokens:
Isn't Cindy coming? Did she cali you? (CONV)
The birds and the deer and who knows what else. ( C O N V )
Such pronouns are more common in speech than in written texts. i In contrast to word tokens, word types are the different vocabulary items that
occur in a text (such as you would look up in a wordhst). Thus, in the sentence
This chapter is devoted to words, paying attention to all four factors above. We above, there are only eight word types {the, birds, and, deer, who, knows, what,
will then move on to phrases and clauses in the next chapter. and else), since and and the occur twice. Notice the token/type distinction applies
equally to orthographic words, grammatical words, and lexemes. However, our
main concern will be with grammatical words, whether as types or as tokens.
In practice, it is not often necessary to distinguish between these senses, as
GRAMMAR BITE the word 'word' is rarely ambiguous in any given context. But i f there is any

A Introduction to words
potential ambiguity the sense intended will be specified.

2.2.2 Three major families of words

2.2 What are words?

Words can be grouped into three families, according to their main function and
their grammatical behavior: lexical words, function words, and inserts.
Words are generally considered to be the basic elements of language. They clearly
'téxical words
show up in writing, and they are the items defined in dictionaries. Yet the
definition of 'word' is not simple. • Lexical words are the main carriers o f Information in a text or speech act.
Words are relatively fixed in their internal form, but they are independent in • They can be subdivided into the following word classes (or parts of speech):
their role in larger units. For example, insertions can usually be made between , nouns, lexical verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
words but not within words:
• Of all the word families, lexical, words are the most numerous, and their
There were two pedal-bins against the wall. ( F I C T ) number is growing all the time. In other words, they are members o f open
There were two (large new) pedal-bins (standing) against the (side) wall. classes.
• They often have a complex internal structure and can be composed o f several
parts: e.g. unfriendliness = un + friend + li + ness.
 What are words? " J ^ ^ ^
l6 Chapter 2: Words and word classes GRAMMAR BITE A

• Lexical words can be heads of phrases: e.g. the noun completion is the head (or In practice, the difference between open classes and closed classes is not
main word) of the noun phrase [the completion of the task]. always clear-cut. For example, new prepositions develop out of other word
• They are generally the words that are stressed most in speech. classes (e.g. regarding), and sequences o f orthographic words can gradually
become fixed as a single preposition (e.g. on account of). As a result, 'closed
• They are generally the words that remain i f a sentence is compressed in a
classes' are not completely closed, but they are extended only slowly, perhaps
newspaper headline: e.g. Elderly care crisis warning.
over centuries. In contrast, new nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs—the open
classes—are always being created.
B Function words
• Function words can be categorized in terms of word classes such as 2.2.4 The structure of words: morphology
prepositions, coordinators, auxiliary verbs, and pronouns.
• They usually indícate meaning relationships and help us to interpret units Lexical words can consist of a single morpheme (a stem, such as go, book, cat), or
containing lexical words, by showing how the units are related to each other. they can have a more complex structure created by a process of inflection,
deriyation or compounding. These processes are described below.
• Function words belong to closed classes, which have a very limited and fixed
inembership. For example, English has only four coordinators: and, or, but,
and (rarely) ñor.
• Individual function words tend to occur frequently, and in almost any type of Lexical words can take inflectional suffixes to signal meanings and roles which
text. are important to their word class, such as 'plural' in the case o f nouns, and 'past
tense' in the case of verbs. The following word classes are marked by inflection:
C Inserts < word class base form example forms with inflectional suffixes
• Inserts are found mainly in spoken language. nouns boy plural (faoys), genitive (boy's, faoysO
• Inserts do not form an integral part of a syntactic structure, but tend to be verbs Uve, write singular present tense {Uves, wrítes), past tense
inserted freely in a text. (//Ved, wrote), past participle {lived, written).
/ng-participle {living, writing)
• They are often marked off by a break in intonation in speech, or by a
adjectives dark comparative (darker), superlativa (darkest)
punctuation mark in writing: e.g. Well, we made it.
adverbs soon comparative (sooner), superlative (soonest)
• They generally carry emotional and discoursal meanings, such as oh, ah, wow,
used to express a speaker's emotional response to a situation, or yeah, no, okay
used to signal a response to what has just been said. Other classes of words are generally invariable. For example, prepositions (e.g. of
• Inserts are generally simple in form, though they often have an atypical in, with), conjunctions (e.g. if while, unless) and determiners (e.g. the, each,
pronunciation (e.g. hm, uh-huh, ugh, yeah). Examples are: Hm hm, very good several) have only one form.
( C O N V ) , Yeah, I will. Bye (coNvf), Cheers man ( C O N V ) .
B Derivation
• Because inserts are peripheral to grammar, they will not be discussed in this
chapter. We describe them i n more detall in 13.7. Deriyation, like inflection, usually involves adding an affix, i.e. a morpheme
attached to the beginning of a word (a prefix) or to the end o f a word (a suffix).
2.2.3 Closed classes and open classes However, this process is different firom inflection because inflection does not
change the identity of a word (i.e. it remains the same lexeme), while derivation
A closed class contains a limited number of members, and new members cannot creates new nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. Derivation changes the
be easily added. For example, it is not easy to créate a new coordinator or a new meaning or word class of a word, and often both, and in effect creates a new base
pronoun: those word classes have a fairly fixed set o f members. form for the word:
The membership of open classes is indefinitely large, and can be readily prefixes: ex + presidént, un + kind, re + read, a + broad
extended by users of the language. Lexical classes such as nouns and adjectives
suffixes: boy + hood, central + ize, green + ish, exact + ly
are open classes. For example, we can easily form new nouns with the suffix -ee,
Words can be built up using a number of different prefixes and suffixes, and
adjectives with -ish, verbs with -ize, and adverbs with -wise:
can thus contain several morphemes:
gossipee, franchisee, internee, retiree
industri + al, industri + o/ + ize, industri + o/ + iz + ation,
hirdish, hroadish, coqucttish, hcathcnish
posi I industri I ¡il
*' hiircaiicralize, iiiylhologize, pcriodize, soluhilize
N o l i i c that i n l l c v l i o n s , S I K I I as ni a n d í o l l o w dcrivational suflixcs, s u c h
criihwise, fiiiiwisc, jrogwise, sliirwise as /.:((•): irnlnil I iz I ni, hiiild I cr I
l8 Chapter 2: Word* and word claisai (IHAMMAII un I A What are words? "] 19
C Compounding
L.ili'i in lilis iiook vvc use a lurtiier terni, lexical bundle, for a sequence of words
Inllcclion anci derivation rcsiilt in complex words, with a stem plus one or more which co-occur very frequently, especially when the sequence consists of more
alTixcs. Anotiicr form of derivation is compounding, which also leads to more than two words. For example, bundles like / don't think . . . and Would you
complex words. Words that are compounds contain more than one stem. mind . . . commonly recur in conversation (see 13.6).
Examples are:
noun + noun: chair + man, girl + friend
2.2.6 Use of lexical words, function words, and
verb + noun: cook + book, guess + work ^
adjective + noun: blue + bird, fíat + fish
inserts
noun + adjective: head+long, water+tight Returning to the three word families presented in 2.2.2, we will now present two
How are we to know whether two words are genuinely a compound and not passages for illustration. The three word families are distinguished as foUows:
simply a sequence of two words? Three tests help to show this: capitals = lexical words; ordinary italics = ftinction words; bold = inserts.
• The word will be spelt as a single word, without spaces between the two forms: A: IS that the TIME?

goldfish, not gold fish. B: Yeah, it's twenty MINUTES to four.

A: Oh my CLOCK IS SLOW, yeah.
• It will be pronounced with the main stress on the first element: a goldfish, not
B: Do you WANT US to IUST GO out THERE and COME back and PICK you GUYS
a gold fish.
up?
• It will have a meaning which cannot be determined from the individual parts:
A: Uh huh.
goldfish {— an ornamental fish of the carp family) not goldfish ( = a fish which
C-.Yeah.
is made of gold).
A: You can GO ifyou WANT to, Vil, I THINK Vil <...>
I f a word passes all three tests, there is no doubt that it is a compound. But in D: He REALLY doesn't TRUST me, does he?
other cases, we may be uncertain about whether an expression is one word or C: That's RIGHT, HOW 'bout I PIN you? ^ . :
two words. As an in-between category, consider words which are joined by D: Okay. Oh, LET me TELL you something.
hyphens: e.g. gold-tipped, care-free. This shows that the combination overall is felt B: Do you, do you WANT to GO by yourself?
to be a single word, and yet the two parts are felt to be somewhat sepárate. There D: No, no, no. You II FEEL SETTER and we'll be FOLLOWING you.
are also words like ice cream, which are usually spelled as two sepárate A: Will you FEEL SETTER?
orthographic words, but where the pronunciation and meaning tests suggest a D: It doesn't.
single word. Like many categories in grammar, compounds are not a hard-and- C: I NEED three SAFETY PINS, you HAD one in your POCKET.
fast category. B: Uh huh. (CONV)

2.2.5 Multi-word units, collocations, and lexical RADIOACTIVE LEAK coNFiRMED at SELLAFIELD
WORK on the DISMANTLINC of a NUCLEAR REPROCESSINC PLANT at SELLAFIELD CAUSEO
bundles a LEAK of RADIOACTIVITY YESTERDAY. BRITISH NUCLEAR FUELS LTD SAID the
Apart from compounds, there are sequences of words that behave as a RADIOACTIVITY REACHED the AIR thrOUgh a CHIMNEY STACK which WaS STILL in USE.

combination: But SPOKESMAN BOB PHILLIPS SAID it WÜS nOt an INCIDENT which REQUIRED

REPORTiNC to the GOVERNMENT. He DisMissED PROTESTS from FRIENDS of the

• A multi-word unit is a sequence of orthographic words which fimctions like a
EARTH as 'SCAREMONCERING'. HOWEVER, DR PATRICK GREEN, FRIENDS of the EARTH
single grammatical unit: e.g. the preposition on top of or the adverb of course.
RADIATION CAMPAICNER. SAID: 'BNF HAS a SCANDALOUS TRACK RECORD of PLAYING
• An idiom, like many compounds, is a multi-word unit with a meaning that
down iNCiDENTS at first, and ONLYADMITTING their SERIOUSNESS LATER.' Three
cannot be predicted from the meanings o f its constituent words. A typical
MONTHS AGO BNF CONFIRMED that ü LEAK of RADIOACTIVE PLUTONIUM SOLUTION
example is a verb expression like fall in loye or rnake up (one's) mind.
had been RECLASSIFIED as 'a SERIOUS INCIDENT'. ( N E W S )
However, the boundary between idioms and freely chosen combinations is
The conversation and news sample differ strikingly in their use o f the three word
not always clear.
categories. These examples show how lexical words are used much more
• A coUocation is the relationship between two or more independent words frequently in news writing. News writers pack their prose with lexical words to
which commonly appear together (or co-occur). The adjectives broad and convey Information. I n contrast, conversation has a higher frequency of function
wide, for example, are similar in meaning, but occur in very different words. Conversation also has quite a large number o f inserts, while news has very
collocations: e.g. broad accent, broad agreement, broad daylight, broad grin, few. Academic writing and ficlion fall between the two extremes of news and
f\, broíid shoiildcrs, etc.; wide appeal, wide área, wide experience, wide interests, conversation in terms ol the clensity of lexical words.
widc inargin, etc.
 Survey of lexical w o r d s ^ ^ ^ ^
Chapter 2: Words and word classes GRAMMAR BITE B

Major points of GRAMMAR BITE A: Introduction to words B Syntactic

>• There are three major famihes of words: lexical words, function words, and Nouns can occur as the head o f a noun phrase: [a new book about the cold war],
inserts. [the ugliest person you've ever seén]. As these examples show, common nouns
> These families are broken down into word classes, such as nouns, verbs, such as book and person can be modified by many kinds of words both before and
adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions. after them. Proper nouns like Sarah, on the other hand, rarely have any
>• Words belong to closed classes or open classes. modifiers.
>• The different word classes have different morphology—that is, different
rules for how to form them. C Semantic
>- Different registers use the various classes of words to different extents.
Nouns commonly refer to concrete, physical entities (people, objects,
>- Newspaper writing has the highest density of lexical words, while
substances): e.g. book, friend, iron. They can also denote abstract entities, such
conversation has the lowest.
as qualities and states: e.g. freedom, wish, friendship.
>- Conversation has more use of inserts than the other registers.

2.3.2 Lexical verbs

Words such as admit, build, choose, write are lexical verbs. They are distinct from
GRAMMAR BITE auxiliary verbs like can and will, which we treat as function words. The primary

Lexical wór
verbs be, have, and do (the most common verbs in English) occur as both lexical
verbs and auxiliarles. Lexical verbs are identified as follows:

A Morphological
3 Survey of lexical words Lexical verbs have different forms signaling tense (present and past), aspect
(perfect, progressive), and voice (active and passive). Note the five forms of the
As already noted, there are four main classes o f lexical words: nouns, lexical verb lexeme write in these examples:
verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. To decide what class a word belongs to, it is
example form
useful to apply tests of three kinds:
They write about their family. (coNvf) base
• Morphological: what forms does a word have (e.g in terms o f stems and
He wrítes page after page about tiny details. (FICT) third person present (-s form)
affixes)?
They wrote about Venus being a jungle paradise. (FICT) past tense
• Syntactic: what syntactic roles does a word play i n phrases or other higher
He has written to an oíd journalist friend. (picrf) ed-participle (or past
units? participle)
• Semantic: what type(s) of meaning does a word convey? / wonder ifyou are writing any more songs? (FICT) /ng-participle (or present
participle)
2.3.1 Nouns
Words such as book, girl, gold, Information are common nouns. Words such as The verb forms and their functions are discussed further in 5.2.
Sarah, Oslo, and Microsoft (ñames) are proper nouns. Nouns have the following Verb lexemes quite often have a complex form with more than one
characteristics: morpheme. The following are examples of multi-word verbs and derived verbs:
bring up, rely on, look forward to, hyphenate, itemize, soften.
Morphological
Nouns have inflectional suffixes for plural number, and for genitive case: one B Syntactic
book two books; Sarah's book. Many nouns, however, are uncountable, and Lexical verbs most frequently occur on their own, as a single-word verb phrase
cannot have a plural form (e.g. gold, information). Nouns quite often contain acting as the central part of the clause:
more than one morpheme:
He ¡writesl page after page about tiny details. ( F I C T )
eoinpoiiiui nouns: boiiib I s/;i7/, hridgc I licdíL clolhcs I line
They also occur in the final or main verb position of verb phrases: ¡has written]
noiMis wilh iliriv.ilion.il snflixes: siiis^ I <T, Init'lil I ncss, frictid I ship Il Icllcr, ¡will be wrilingj loinorrow. Verb phrases are cxplained in 3.3.2.
22 Chapter 2: Words and word clasiat GRAMMAR BITE B
II Syntactic
C Semantic
Adverbs occur as head of adverb phrases: ¡very noisilyj, ]morc slowly than I had
Lexical verbs denote actions, processes, and states of affairs that happen or exist (•\/'((/(•(//. Ailverbs, with or wilhout their own modifiers, are often used as
in time. They also define the role of human and non-human participants in such iiiodilicrs of an adjective or another adverb: really oíd, very soon. Otherwise, they
actions, processes, or states: i.in .Kl .is adverbials in the clause: Vil see you again soon. See 3.5.5 on adverbials.
[You] [ate] [Chínese food]. ( C O N V )
In this example, ate expresses the action performed by you on the Chínese food. C Semantic
The characteristics of verbs are discussed in detall in Chapters 5 and 6. As modifiers, adverbs most often express the degree o f a following adjective or
adveib: lotally wrong; right now. As elements of clauses (adverbials), adverbs and
2.3.3 Adjectives •iilverb phrases have a wide range of meanings:

Words such as dark, heavy, eager, and guilty are adjectives. Adjectives are • They can modify an action, process, or state, by expressing such notions as
time, place, and manner:
identified as follows:
So I learned Germán quite quickly. (coNvf)
A iVIorphologicai She was here earlier today. (coNvf)
Many adjectives can take the inflectional suffixes -er (comparative) and -est • They can convey the speaker's or writer's attitude towards the information i n
(superlative): dark darker darkest. Adjectives can be complex in the rest o f the clause: (1 •
morphology: Surely that child's not mine? (CONV)

derived adjectives (with suffixes in bold): acceptable, forgetful, influential • They can express a connection with what was said earlier:
compound adjectives: color-blínd, home-made, ice-cold. It must be beautíful, though. (CONV)

lor a detailed account of adverbs, see Chapters 7 and I L

B Syntactic
Adjectives can occur as the head of an adjective phrase: [very dark], [eager to 2.3.5 Comparing lexical word classes in use
help], [guilty of a serious crime]. Adjectives and adjective phrases are most
commonly used as modifiers preceding the head of a noun phrase, or as As Figure 2.1 shows, there are Figure 2.1
predicatives following the verb in clauses: interesting similarities and contrasts Distribution of lexical word classes
modifier: Tomorrow could be [a sunny day]. (coNvf)
in the use of the lexical word classes across registers
across the registers. Registers can be
predicative: It's nice and warm in here. It's sunny. (CONV) . , I 5 600
described in terms of their style by
comparing their use of the lexical
C Semantic classes.
Adjectives describe the qualities of people, things, and abstractions: a heavy box, • Nouns and verbs are clearly the
he is guilty, the situation is serious. Many adjectives are gradable. That is, they most common types of words
can be compared and modified for the degree or level of the quality: heavier, very overall.
heavy, extremely serious. Adjectives are discussed in detall in Chapter 7.
• Conversation has a high density of
verbs, unlike informative writing
2.3.4 Adverbs such as news and academic prose,
which has a high density of nouns. CONV FICT NEWS ACAD
Words such as now, there, usually, and finally are adverbs. Adverbs are a varied
word class, with the following characteristics: • Adjectives are linked to nouns,
• adverbs 1 verbs
because they most frequentjy
^ nouns
modify nouns. So informative I adjectives
A MorphofogicaT
writing, which has the highest
Many adverbs are formed from adjectives by adding the suffix -ly: clearly, eagerly. density of nouns, also has the highest density of adjectives.
Olhers have 110 such ending: however, just. A few adverbs allow comparative and
• Adverbs, on the other hand, are linked to verbs. They typically describe
superlative l'orms like lliose for adjectives: soon —> sooncr —> soonest; fast —> faster
circumstances rclating to actions, processes, and states that are denoted by
—> fistcsi.
verbs. So conversation and íiclion writing, which have the highest density of
verbs, also have the highest density of adverbs.
24 cnaptcr 2: w o r d s a n d w o r d c l a s i e t ( . K A M M A H I I I I I II Survey of lexical words T C T

SiiRi' i i f i l h c r o l M U - N O cines is p i v s f u i i n llic original example, the w o r d class o f

2.3.6 Borderline cases in classifying words <//(•( is Icll i m i l c a r .

The categories people o p é r a t e w i t h i n the real w o r l d are not ciear-cut. The

B Nouns a n d adjectives
category o f ' f u r n i t u r e ' , for example, includes clear cases, Hke tables and chairs,
b u t also less clear o r b o r d e r l i n e cases, such as t e l e v i s i ó n sets, cookers, a n d electric l'iic biggest p r o b l e m here is where the fn^-form modifies a f o l l o w i n g n o u n .
heaters. Compare: ~ " "
The same is true o f w o r d classes i n g r a m m a r . For example, n o u n s can be
noun I noun adjective + noun
m o r e or less ' n o u n y ' . A typical n o u n (e.g. boy, car) has singular, p l u r a l , and
genitive forms (e.g. boy, boys, boy's). I t can be preceded by a o r the, a n d i t refers living standards living creatures
t o a class o f people, things, o r other entities. Yet i n the class o f n o u n s we find dancing classes the dancing children
m a n y w o r d s w h i c h have o n l y some o f these ' n o u n y ' features: e.g. research, w h i c h working conditions a working mother
has n o p l u r a l o r genitive, cannot be preceded b y a, and refers t o s o m e t h i n g
abstract and intangible As cxplained i n 4.11.3, b o t h nouns and adjectives can m o d i f y a n o u n , so the o n l y
As some w o r d s m a y be m o r e ' b o r d e r l i n e ' t h a n others w i t h i n a w o r d class, i t way to tell the difference here is to a p p l y a 'paraphrase test': i.e. t o t r y t o express
is n o t surprising that the boundaries between_two w o r d classes m a y also be _ ihe same idea i n different ways.
unclear. I f a paraphrase can be f o u n d where the m g - f o r m clearly has a n o u n - l i k e
As an example o f b o r d e r l i n e cases i n lexical w o r d classes, take the character, the c o n s t r u c t i o n consists o f n o u n + n o u n . Por example, i f a
classification o f w o r d s e n d i n g w i t h -ing. A l m o s t all o f these w o r d s have a verb paraphrase w h i c h uses a p r e p o s i t i o n a l phrase is appropriate, the c o n s t r u c t i o n
base, so i t is easy to assume that all w o r d s e n d i n g i n -ing are verbs. However, this m u s t consist o f an i w ^ - n o u n + n o u n : living standards = standards of living;
c o n c l u s i ó n is n o t correct. I n fact, these w o r d s can belong t o any o f three different dancing classes = classes for dancing. I n contrast, a paraphrase w i t h a relative
classes: verb (sometimes called the iM^-participle), n o u n , o r adjective (sometimes clause (using that, which, o r w/jo) shows that the c o n s t r u c t i o n consists o f ing-
called participial adjective). N o r m a l l y the f o l l o w i n g tests can be applied to adjective + n o u n : living creatures = creatures which are (still) living; dancing
determine the w o r d class: cchildren ~ children who are dancing.

• Verbs e n d i n g i n -ing can act as the m a i n verb o f a verb phrase, and m a y be

C Verbs a n d adjectives
followed by a n o u n o r a n j i d j e c t i v e ( u n d e r l i n e d here): e.g. is eating lunch;
becomitig misty overnight. Borderline cases between these categories occur where the ing-iorm foUows the
• N o u n s e n d i n g i n -ing can sometimes have a p l u r a l f o r m (e.g. paintings), and verb fce w i t h o u t other modifiers. Consider, for example:
can usually be a head n o u n after a, the, o r some other d e t e r m i n e n e.g. [the It was embarrassing. ( C O N V )

banning of some chemicals], [her dancing]. I f the /«g-vvord can take an o b j e c t j i ^ e ^ f o l l o w i n g n o u r i p h r a s e ) , _ t h e n i t i s a verb:
• Adjectives e n d i n g i n -ing can apj)ear before a n o u n , and can also occur after It was embarrassing (me).
verbs such as be and become: the travelling puhlic; it was (very) confusing. I n contrast, i f the ing-word is gradable a n d can be m o d i f i e d b y very, i t is an
They are very often gradable, and can be preceded b y degree adverbs such as adjective:
very^so, a n d too: very forgiving, so interesting, too boring.
It was (very) embarrassing.
B u t these criteria cannot always be clearly applied. T y p i c a l b o r d e r l i n e cases
I n some cases (like this one w i t h embarrassing), b o t h tests apply, and there is n o
i n c l u d e the f o l l o w i n g :
single correct analysis. B u t the second analysis (adjective) is m o r e likely.
W o r d classes, like v i r t u a l l y all g r a m m a l i c a l categories, have uncertain
A • ^ t Í r J g ' § i W " # a f ^'
boundaries; b u t this does n o t u n d e r m i n e their v a l u é as categories. Rather,
The biggest p r o b l e m here is the so-called naked ¿ng-form o c c u r r i n g after a m a i n g r a m m a r needs flexibility i n its categories to enable people t o c o m m u n i c a t e
verb, as i n flexibly. I n the large m a j o r i t y o f actual instances, however, there is little
The matter needed checking. ( N E W S J )
ambiguity.

I n this example the final w o r d checking c o u l d be a verb. I f one added an adverb, i t

Major polnts of G R A M M A R B I T E B : Lexical w o r d classes
w o u l d be a verb:
>• There are four lexical w o r d classes: nouns, lexical verbs, adjectives, and
The matter needed checking carefully. > adverbs.
I n other similar cases, this f o r m c o u l d be f u n c t i o n i n g as a n o u n . I f i t were ec > Hach class can be distinguished by its m o r p h o l o g i c a l , syntactic, and
preceded by a m o d i f y i n g adjective, i t w o u l d clearly be a n o u n : semantic charactcristics.
The matter needed careful checking. >• Nouns and adjectives are more liciiuent in the expository or ' i n í o r n i a t i o n -
¡;iv¡n¡;' legisteis: news and . u . i d e i n i i w r i t i n g .
 >• Verbs aiul adverbs are m o i c I r a i i i e i i l in llie olliei iv(;islcis: tonvers,ilion lilis is iiiiy (.'.ity. ( C O N V )

and fiction w r i t i n g . / likf ihose. ( C O N V )

>• The classification o f lexical words is not always clear-cul, ami soiiic words
• Kcflcxive pronouns refer back to a previous n o u n phrase, usually the subject
have borderline status between t w o classes.
1)1 ihe cjause:
/ liiiiglii myself. ( C O N V )

Shc ncvcr iiitroduced herself? ( C O N V )

GRAMMAR BITE • Keciprocal pronouns, like reflexive p r o n o u n s , refer to a previous noun

cc Function word classes

phrase, b u t indicate that there is a m u t u a l relationship:
Yeah they know each other pretty well. ( C O N V )

• Possessive pronouns (such as mine, yours, his) are closely related to possessive
delerminers {my, your, his, etc.), a n d usually i m p l y a missing n o u n head:
2.4 Survey of function words Is this yours, or mine? ( C O N V )

Ours is better than theirs. (coNvf)

F u n c t i o n words can also be categorized i n different classes: d e t e r m i n e r s ,
p r o n o u n s , a u x i l i a r y verbs, p r e p o s i t i o n s , a d v e r b i a l particles, c o o r d i n a t o r s , and These possessive pronouns include the meaning o f a head n o u n . For
s u b o r d i n a t o r s . T o distinguish these classes briefly, we w i l l l o o k at their semantic example, yours m i g h t refer to your book or your pen.
f u n c t i o n and syntactic role, list their m a i n f o r m s , a n d consider their subclasses. • Indefinite pronouns have a b r o a d , indefinite meaning. Some o f t h e m are
c o m p o u n d w o r d s consisting o f quantifier + general n o u n {everything,
2.4.1 Determiners nobody, someone, etc.). Others consist o f a quantifier alone {all, some, many,
etc.):
Determiners n o r m a l l y precede nouns, a n d are used to help clarify the m e a n i n g o f
Somebody tricked me. ( C O N V )
the n o u n . The most i m p o r t a n t are the f o l l o w i n g :
That's all I know. ( C O N V )
• The d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e the indicates that the referent (i.e. whatever is referred t o )
is assumed to be k n o w n by the speaker and the person b e i n g spoken to ( o r • Relative pronouns {who, whom, which, that) i n t r o d u c e a relative clause (see
9.7-8):
addressee).
• The i n d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e a o r an makes i t clear t h a t the referent is one m e m b e r o f I had more friends that were boys. {CONV)

a class (a book). He's the guy who told me about this. ( C O N V )

• D e m o n s t r a t i v e d e t e r m i n e r s indicate that the referents are 'near t o ' o r 'away • Interrogative pronouns ask questions about u n k n o w n entities:
f r o m ' the speaker's i m m e d i a t e context (ífifs book, that book, etc.). What did he say? ( C O N V )

. Possessive d e t e r m i n e r s tell us w h o o r w h a t the n o u n belongs t o {my book, / just wonder who it was. ( C O N V )

your book, her book, etc.).

Most relative and interrogative p r o n o u n s (e.g. who, which, what) belong t o
• Q u a n t i f i e r s specify h o w m a n y o r h o w m u c h o f the n o u n there is (every book,
the class o f wh-words (see 2.5.1).
some books, etc.).
There are also d e t e r m i n e r - l i k e uses o f w/t-words and n u m e r á i s (see 2.5).
2.4.3 Auxiliary verbs
2.4.2 Pronouns There are t w o k i n d s o f a u x i l i a r y verbs: p r i m a r y auxiliaries and modal
j u x i l i a r i e s . B o t h are 'auxiliary verbs' i n the sense that they are added t o a
Pronouns fiU the p o s i t i o n o f a n o u n o r a w h o l e n o u n phrase. T h e reference o f a
m a i n verb to help b u i l d verb phrases.
p r o n o u n is usually made clear b y its context. There are eight m a j o r classes o f
A u x i l i a r y verbs precede the m a i n o r lexical verb i n a verb phrase: will arrive;
pronoun:
has arrived; is arriving; may be arriving, etc. (See 8.7 a n d 13.5.2 for cases where
. Personal p r o n o u n s refer t o the speaker, the addressee(s), a n d other entities: an auxiliary occurs w i t h o u t a m a i n verb.) Some c o m m o n auxiliaries have
/ won't tell you how it ended. ( C O N V ) contracted forms—'s, 're, 've, 'd, 'II—us^ j a r t i c u l a r l y ^ i n speech.
Personal pronouns are used far m o r e frequently than the other classes o f
pronouns.
• D e m o n s t r a t i v e p r o n o u n s refer to entities w h i c h are 'near t o ' v. 'away f r o m ' There are three p r i m a r y auxiliaries: be, have, and do. They have inflections like
the speaker's context, like demonstrative determiners (2.4.1): lexical verbs, b u t are n o r m a l l y unstressed. The same verbs ¿ e , W g , and do can
also act as m a i n verbs.
bata prosent tense past tense /ng-participle ed-participle In t i u ' IDIIOWÍII)', i ' X . i i n | i l i s , llic i m p o s i t i o n is in b o i d , . m i l llic | ' i I | M > M I u i i i . i l
be is, am, are was, were being been phrase it introduces is encloseil in //. TIu- n o u n phrase lunctioniiig as
have fias, tiave had having had prepositional c o n q i l o i n c n t is i n u l e i i i n e d :
do does, do did doing done lic'tl go ¡with onc of the kidsj. (<:oNvt)
Late one morning ¡in June], ¡in the thirty-first year ofhis Ufe], a message was
hrought [to Michael K] as he raked leaves [in De WaalPark]. (FICT)
I n various ways, the p r i m a r y auxiliaries show h o w the m a i n verb is to be
Prepositions can be l i n k e d to a preceding verb, such as rely on and confide in.
u n d e r s t o o ^ (examples b e l o w are from conversation):
You can't, you can't rely on any of that Information, ( C O N V )
• T h e auxiliary have is used t o f o r m the perfect aspect: fve done that once (see
She confided in him above all others. (FICT)
6.3, 6.4).
These m u l t i - w o r d u n i t s are referred t o as prepositional verbs (see 5.10-11).
• T h e auxiliary be is used for the progressive aspect or ' c o n t i n u o u s ' aspect: She
was thinking about me (see 6.3, 6.5).
Complex prepositions
• T h e auxiliary be is also used for the passive voice: It was sent over there (see
6.6-8). A n o t h e r set o f prepositions consists o f m u l t í - w o r d u n i t s k n o w n as complex
prepositions, w h i c h have a m e a n i n g that cannot be derived from the m e a n i n g o f
• T h e auxiliary do is used i n negative statements a n d i n questions; this is k n o w n
the parts. Two-word complex prepositions n o r m a U y end with a simpk
• as do insertion: Did he sell it? This doesn't make sense (see 8.7).
preposition:

Modal auxiliaries ending in examples

There are n i n e m o d a l auxiliary verbs. As t h e i r ñ a m e suggests, they are largely as such as

concerned w i t h expressing ' m o d a l i t y ' , such as possibility, necessity, p r e d i c t i o n , for as for, except for
a n d j / o l i t i o n . T h e modals are: from apart from
will can shall may must would could should might of because of, instead of, out of, regardiess of
to according to, due to, owing to
Each m o d a l i n the lower r o w is historically the past tense o f the m o d a l directly
above i t . For exampie, would was historically the past tense o f will. (Must has n o T h r e e - w o r d prepositions usually have the structure simple p r e p o s i t i o n + noun
m a t c h i n g historical past tense.) Nowadays, t h o u g h , the relationship o f will to + simple p r e p o s i t i o n :
would, o r can to could, etc. has less to d o w i t h tense t h a n w i t h m o d a l m e a n i n g
ending in examples
(see 6.9-10).
I n practice the modals can be regarded as invariable f u n c t i o n w o r d s , w i t h n o of by means of, in spite of, on account of, on top of
to in addition to, with regard to.
inflections such as -ing and -ed. The modals will and would have contracted
as as far as, as well as
f o r m s ('// a n d 'd), a n d most modals have a contracted negative f o r m e n d i n g i n
n't, such as wouldn't. M o d a l s occur as the first verb i n a clause, a n d are followed As with m a n y g r a m m a t i c a l categories, there are b o r d e r l i n e cases w i t h
by the base f o r m o f another verb, usually the m a i n verb ( u n d e r l i n e d b e l o w ) : c o m g l e x p r e p o s i t i o n s . I t is n o t always clear whether a m u l t i - w o r d c o m b i n a t i o n is
/ can Uve here quietly. (picrf). a c o m p l e x p r e p o s i t i o n — t h a t is, a fixed expression w i t h a special m e a n i n g — o r a
They would have a different view. (ACAof) free c o m b i n a t i o n o f p r e p o s i t i o n (-|- article) + noun -|- p r e p o s i t i o n . At the
T h e m o d a l auxiliaries, and m a r g i n a l m o d a l f o r m s such as be going to (semi- expense of is an example o f an in-between case.
modals), are covered i n detall i n 6.9-13.

2.4.5 Adverbial particles

2.4.4 Prepositions Adverbial particles are a small g r o u p o f w o r d s w i t h a core m e a n i n g o f m o t i o n .
Prepositions are linking words that introduce p r e p o s i t i o n a l phrases. The The most i m p o r t a n t are: about, across, along, around, aside*, away'*, back*, by,
prepositional complement f o l l o w i n g a p r e p o s i t i o n is generally a n o u n phrase, down, forth*, home*, in, off, on, out, over, past, round, through, under, up. A l l o f
so prepositions can also be seen as U n k i n g w o r d s that connect other structures these forms except those m a r k e d * can also be prepositions.
w i t h n o u n phrases. For example: A d v e r b i a l particles are closely l i n k e d to verbs. T h e y generally f o l l o w verbs,
Eleven fifty with the tip ( C O N V ) And she's in a new situation. ( C O N V ) and are closely b o u n d t o t h e m i n m e a n i n g : go away, come back, put ( s o m e t h i n g )
that pictiirc of mother ( C O N V ) She's still on the phone. ( C O N V ) on, etc. T h e y are used to b u i l d phrasal verbs, such as the following:.
M o s t prepositions are short, invariable forms: e.g. about, after, around, as, at, by, Come on, tell me about Nick. ( C O N V )

down, for, from, into, like, of, off, on, round, since, than, to, towards, with, without. I just broke down in tears when I saw the letter. ( C O N V )
30 C h a p t c r 2: Words and w o r d classes C.RAMMAK mu c Survey of function words

Míirgollc micly turued on llic icirvision sel. (iici)

T h e y are also used to b u i l d extended prepositional phrases, where a partióle 2.4.7 Subordinators « ^ h
precedes the p r e p o s i t i o n . For example: .Siibonlinators (also called s u b o r d i n a t i n g conjunctions) are l i n k i n g w o r d s that
We were going back to the hotel when it happened. ( N E W S )
i n i r o i i n c e clauses k n o w n as dependent clauses—clauses w h i c h cannot stand
Adverbial particles have been called ' p r e p o s i t i o n a l adverbs', because o f their
resemblance to b o t h prepositions ( i n f o r m ) a n d adverbs ( i n syntactic role). I n alone w i t h o u t another clause, called the m a i n clause:
this b o o k , however, they are treated as a d i s t i n c t w o r d class. Phrasal verbs are You can hold her [if you want]. ( C O N V )

considered again i n 5.9, a n d prepositional phrases i n 3.3.5. The s u b o r d i n a t o r shows the c o n n e c t i o n o f meaning between the m a i n clause and
tlie s u b o r d í n a t e clause. I n the above example, the s u b o r d i n a t o r ; / shows a
2.4.6 Coordinators relation o f ' c o n d i t i o n ' .
i n the case o f c o o r d i n a t i o n , explained i n the last section, the t w o elements
There are t w o types o f w o r d s t r a d i t i o n a l l y called conjunctions i n English: h . i v e the same status. However, i n the case o f s u b o r d i n a t i o n , the dependent
coordinators (also called c o o r d i n a t i n g c o n j u n c t i o n s ) , and subordinators (or cl.uise starting w i t h the s u b o r d i n a t o r is embedded (or i n c l u d e d ) i n the m a i n
s u b o r d i n a t i n g c o n j u n c t i o n s ) , w h i c h are dealt w i t h next, i n 2.4.7.
il.uise. This can be s h o w n by nested brackets [ ] } ] :
• C o o r d i n a t o r s are used t o indicate a relationship between t w o u n i t s such as
]]As they watched,] a flash of fire appeared.] ( F I C T ) •
phrases or clauses. C o o r d i n a t o r s l i n k elements w h i c h have the same syntactic
role, a n d are at the same level o f the syntactic hierarchy (see 2.1). T h u s , i n any ]A flash of fire appeared [as they watched.]] <•
structure [ X + c o o r d i n a t o r + Y ] , X a n d Y are equivalent. ( C o m p a r e this to Not ice the dependent clause can come at the front o r at the end o f the m a i n
subordinators i n the next section, w h i c h indicate that the f o l l o w i n g structure is clause.
Subordinators fall i n t o three major subclasses:
s u b o r d í n a t e . ) T h e m a i n coordinators are and, but, and or. I n the f o l l o w i n g
• The great m a j o r i t y o f subordinators i n t r o d u c e adverbial clauses, a d d i n g
examples, the c o o r d i n a t e d elements are m a r k e d b y / / :
details o f t i m e , place, reason, etc. t o the m a i n clause: after, as, because, if, since,
[Mother] and [I] saw it. ( C O N V )
allhough, while, etc. (see 8.15.2, 11.9-12).
[/ don't want to speak too soon], but ¡I think I have been fairly consistent • Three subordinators i n t r o d u c e degree clauses: as, than, that (see 7.14, 8.15.4).
this season]. ( N E W S ) • Three subordinators i n t r o d u c e complement clauses ( o r n o m i n a l clauses): if,
Is this necessarily [good] or [bad]? ( A C A D ) that, whether (see 8.15.1, 10.1-11).
Or has a rather infrequently used negatjy^ c o j i n t e i p a r t , « q r , which is used after The subordinators i n the first t w o subclasses indicate m e a n i n g relationships such
negative clauses: as t i m e , reason, c o n d i t i o n , a n d c o m p a r i s o n . The subordinators i n the t h i r d
]The donkeys did not come back], ñor [did the eleven men], ñor [did the subclass are called complementizers laecause they i n t r o d u c e clauses f o l l o w i n g
helicopter]. (FICT)
verbs, adjectives o r nouns, c o m p l e m e n t i n g o r c o m p l e t i n g the m e a n i n g o f these
key w o r d s i n the m a i n clause:
As this example shows, coordinators can be used to connect m o r e t h a n t w o
elements. I'm glad [that Tve found you again]. (FICT)

Sometimes he did not know ]whether he was awake or asleep]. (FICT)

Correlativa coordinators Dependent clauses can also be i n t r o d u c e d b y other forms, like w/i-words a n d
Each simple c o o r d i n a t o r can be c o m b i n e d w i t h another w o r d , to make a the relative p r o n o u n that. These are n o t subordinators.
correlative coordinator: , -
Complex subordinators
both [X] and [Y] either [X] or ]Y]
not (only) [X] but (also) [Y] neither [X] ñor [Y] Like prepositions, subordinators m a y consist o f m o r e t h a n one w o r d . M o s t o f
For example: these complex subordinators end w i t h as o r that (often the that is o p t i o n a l , as
shown by parentheses ( ) b e l o w ) :
The couple were both [shoved] and [jostled]. ( C O N V )

¡ . It's yes or no, isn't it? Either ]you agree with it] or [you don't agree with ending in examples
it]. ( N E W S ) as as long as, as soon as
r We used not only [the colors reflected from mineral surfaces] but also [the that given (that), on condition (that), provided (that), except (that), in
11,Ir, , colors transmitted through minerals in microscopic thin sections]. ( A C Á » ! ) that, in order that, so (that), such (that)
Neither [Zackj ñor [Janej had slept that night, but they looked happy others as if, as though, even if, even though
anyway. (ii<:if)
i'or examples, see 11.9-12.
C o o r d i i i a t i o n is discussed in more liet.iil in 8.1.
 l i i l e i i d j ^ a l i v c ii7/ v v o i d s t . i i i l i e :

j./i.H Comparing function word classes in use • interrogative p r o n o u n s : n7/(», whoni, whal, which

I m u l i l i l í w n u l i l . i s s c s , liko lexical W O R I classes, vary groatly in tlicii lic'i|iiency in • interrogative d e t e r m i n é i s : whnl, which, whose
ilillciciil ly|H-s o l l'iiglish. I'igurcs 2.2 and 2.3 show the way frecjiiency varies • interrogative adverbs: when, whcrc, how, why
l>rl\vi<ii l w o very different registers o f English, conversation a n d academic prose.
N o l i c e especially the s t r i k i n g differences i n frequency o f p r o n o u n s (high in B Introducing a relative clause (relativizers)
conversation) a n d determiners ( h i g h i n academic prose). A n o t h e r difference is i n 1 the kind of person [who needs emotional space] (NEWsf)
the frequency o f adverbial particles: this is the least frequent f u n c t i o n w o r d class 2 Graham Poole, [whose grandfather started the place in 1895[ ( N E W S J )

i n b o t h registers, b u t i t is m u c h rarer i n academic prose t h a n i n conversation. 3 a small place [where everyone knows everyone else[ ( N E W S J )

Relativizers can be:

Figure 2.2 Figure 2.3 • relative p r o n o u n s : who, whom, which, that
Frequency of function w o r d classes Frequency of function w o r d classes in • relative determiners: which, whose
in conversation academic prose
• relative adverbs: where, when, why
If 180 I I 180
i I 160 I 160
Relative p r o n o u n s stand for a n o u n phrase, as i n 1 above, where who refers back
1
to the kind of person. Relative determiners occur before the n o u n , as i n 2 above
*| 140 l . | 140 {whose grandfather) o r i n the phrase hy which time. Relative adverbs are used t o
i | 120
|l refer t o times {when), reasons {why), o r places {where), as i n 3 above {where
I* 100
I* 100 refers back to a small place).
80
80
60 60 C Introducing a c o m p l e m e n t clause (complementizers)

n
40 40
20 20 / don't know [what 1 would have done without her]. ( N E W S )

O O n n I give them ]whatever I have in my pocket]. ( N E W S )

Vada wonders ]where she stands in her father's affections].

} i
( N E W S )

e 1 ü -o a
D Adverbial clause links
a Q. T3
i I 3

1 They could not improve upon that, [whatever they might say]. ( F I C T )

2 ]However they vary], each formation comprises a distinctive set of rock

layers. ( A C A D )

2.5 Special classes of words I n adverbial clauses as i n 1 a n d 2, w / i - w o r d s c o m b i n e d w i t h -ever express the

meaning ' i t doesn't matter w h a t / w h e n / w h e r e / . . . ' . ( C o m p a r e subordinators like if
A few classes o f f u n c t i o n w o r d s have special qualities: wft-H'ords, existential a n d when i n 2.4.7 above.)
there, the negator not, the infinitive m a r k e r to, a n d n u m e r á i s . Finally, the w o r d whether is versatile: i t is used as a s u b o r d i n a t o r (see 2.4.7)
but i t can also be classed as a wh-word.

2.5.1 Wh-words
VWi-words, like s u b o r d i n a t o r s , i n t r o d u c e clauses. H o w e v e r , w/j-words d o n o t
2.5.2 Single-word classes
f o r m an independent w o r d class. Instead, they are members o f w o r d classes The three w o r d s considered i n this g r o u p are special i n that they are each u n i q u e ,
already m e n t i o n e d , especially determiners, p r o n o u n s , a n d adverbs. As t h e i r ñ a m e grammatically, a n d do n o t fit i n t o any o t h e r class. T h a t is, they f o r m s i n g l e - w o r d
suggests, w/z-words begin w i t h wh, w i t h the single exception o f how. T h e y are classes.
used i n t w o m a i n ways: at the b e g i n n i n g o f an interrogative clause, a n d at the
b e g i n n i n g o f a relative clause. T w o f i i r t h e r uses are at the b e g i n n i n g o f a A Existential there
c o m p l e m e n t clause a n d at the b e g i n n i n g o f an adverbial clause. Existential there is often called an a n t i c i p a t o r y subject. N o other w o r d i n English
behaves i n the same way, heading a clause expressing existence:
There's a mark on this chair. ( C O N V )

What do they want? ( F I C T ) Which one do you mean? ( F I C T ) There were four bowls of soup. ( F I C T )

When are you leaving? ( F I C T ) Why should I care? ( c o N v f )

 Word-class ambiguities 35
34 C h a p t e r 2: W o r d s a n d w o r d c l a s s e s GRAMMAR BITE C

There are no trains on Sundays. ( N E W S ) B Ordinals

Existential there s h o u l d n o t be confused w i t h the place adverb there. (See the O r d i n a l n u m e r á i s answer the question ' W h i c h ? ' and serve t o place entities i n
discussion o f existential there i n 12.5-10.) order o r i n a series: first, second, third, etc. Similar t o cardinals, they can be used
either like determiners, before a n o u n :
B T h e negator not / was doing my third week as a young crime repórter and had just about
T h e negator not is i n some ways like an adverb, b u t i n other respects i t is u n i q u e . finished my second and last story of the day when the phone rang. ( F I C T )
T h e m a i n use o f not ( a n d its reduced f o r m n't) is to make a clause negative. or like nouns, as head o f a n o u n phrase:
You can do this but [you can't do that]. ( C O N V ) <]] marks the clause> Three men will appear before Belfast magistrales today on charges of
( N o t e the spelling o f can't = can + n't.) A p a r t from negating w h o l e clauses, not intimidation. A fourth will be charged with having information likely to be
has various other negative uses (as i n not all, not many, not very, etc.). (See 8.8.) of use to terrorists. The fifth, a woman, was remanded on the same charge
yesterday. ( N E W S )
C T h e infinitive marker to O r d i n a l s are also used to f o r m fractions. Treated as regular nouns, ordinals such
T h e i n f i n i t i v e marker to is another u n i q u e w o r d ( n o t to be confused w i t h the as fifth, tenth, a n d hundredth can take a p l u r a l -s ending:
c o m m o n p r e p o s i t i o n to). Its chief use is as a complementizer preceding the Probably two thirds of the people who Uve here now are not natives.
i n f i n i t i v e (base) f o r m o f verbs. (cONvf )

What do you want to drink? ( C O N V ) The pupil can identify the place valué of a column or a digit for valúes of
tenths, hundredths and thousandths. (ACAuf)
Tm just happy to be here right now. ( C O N V )

I n a d d i t i o n , i n f i n i t i v e to occurs as part o f t w o c o m p l e x subordinators expressing

purpose: in order to a n d so as to:
You don't have to Uve under the same laws as a foreigner in order to trade
2 . 6 Word-class ambiguities
with him. ( N E W S )
Before we leave w o r d classes, i t is i m p o r t a n t to notice that English has a large
Each has the job of writing his chapter so as to make the novel being n u m b e r o f w o r d forms w h i c h occur i n m o r e than one w o r d class. I n other w o r d s ,
constructed the best it can be. ( A C A D )
the same spelling and p r o n u n c i a t i o n applies t o t w o o r m o r e different
grammatical w o r d s . Table 2.1 illustrates a range o f such examples.
2.5.3 Numeráis Some word-class ambiguities are systematic. For example, the class o f
quantifiers (e.g. all, some, any, much) can be seen as a 'superclass' o f w o r d s w h i c h
N u m e r á i s f o r m a rather self-contained á r e a o f English g r a m m a r . As a w o r d class,
can f u n c t i o n w i t h similar meanings as determiners, p r o n o u n s o r adverbs: '
n u m e r á i s consist o f a small set o f simple forms {one, two,five, etc.), and a large
• as determiners:
set o f m o r e c o m p l e x forms w h i c h can be b u i l t u p from the s i m p l e forms (e.g.
, three million eight hundred and fifty-five thousand four hundred and eighteen, He kept whistling at all the girls. (coNvj)

3,855,418). / have a little money in my room. (CONV) <note: a little is considered as a

They are most c o m m o n l y used i n the role o f determiners o r heads i n n o u n single determiner>
phrases. There are t w o parallel sets o f n u m e r á i s , cardinals a n d ordinals. • as p r o n o u n s :
¡s that all Tve got dad? ( C O N V )

A Cardinals
'Water?' - 'Just a little, and a lot of ice', (FICT)

C a r d i n a l n u m e r á i s answer the question ' H o w many?' and are most c o m m o n l y • as adverbs:

used like determiners, w i t h a f o l l o w i n g n o u n :
Don't get all mucky. ( C O N V )

Four people were arrested. ( N E W S )

// was a little hard for him to understand. ( F I C T J )

However, cardinals also occur as heads o f n o u n phrases: As these examples show, it is impossible t o identify the w o r d class o f m a n y
Four of the ycn traders have pleaded guilty. (Niwsf) línglish words w i t h o u t seeing t h e m i n context.
I n their n o i i n l i k e use, cardinals can be made plural by a d d i n g -(e)s:
C.ops in lwos and ihrees iniddlc muí sinilc al inc wilh hcncvolcncc. (IK 1)
Dinnagc is cslitmilcíl al hundrcds oj miílions of pounds. ( N I W S ) .

'I ' ",,i . \ - i r '

 36 Chapter 2: Words and word classes GRAMMAR BITE C

Table 2.1 Words in more than one class

form noun verb adj adv prep sub examples

befare She had never asked him that

befare.
He was there befare her.
• They'd started leaving befare I
arrived.
early Steele kicked an early penalty
goal.
He has a/so kicked a penalty goal
early in the match.
fight There was a hell of a fight.
They're too big to fight.

narrow He plans to narraw his focus to

certain markets.
Current review programs are too
narraw.

as This was the beginning of his Ufe

as a cultivator.
• As they watched, a flash of fire
appeared.
outside You can open the autside
window.
He's gone autside.
It's sitting outside your house.

Major points of G r a m m a r Bite C: Function w o r d classes

>• There are seven classes of function words: determiners, pronouns, auxiliary
verbs, prepositions, 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
infinitive marker to, and numeráis.
>• English has a large number of words which occur in more than one
grammatical category.