Function words serve important grammatical functions and have little meaning on their own. They include articles, auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, determiners, intensifiers, prepositions, pronouns, and interjections. Articles precede nouns and can be definite or indefinite. Auxiliary verbs combine with other verbs to form verb phrases. Conjunctions link words and phrases. Determiners introduce nouns. Pronouns replace nouns.

2. 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.

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

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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").

7. 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

8. 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)

9. 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
Present Tense
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)

10. 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)

11. 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.

12. CONJUNCTIONS
 A conjunction is used to link words,
phrases, and clauses.
 Kinds of conjunctions: Coordinating,
subordinating, and correlative
conjunctions.

13. 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)

14. 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.

15. 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 . . . and
either . . . or
neither . . . nor
not . . . but
not only . . . but also

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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)

20. Possessive determiner
 A determiner used in front of a noun to
express possession or belonging (as in
"my phone").
Example:
 Their bus was late.

21. 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.

22. 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.

23.  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

24. PRONOUNS
 A word that takes the place of a noun,
noun phrase, or noun clause.

25. 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.

26.  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.

27.  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.

28.  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.

29.  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?

30.  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.

31.  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.

32.  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.

33.  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.

34. 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!

35. 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.