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Function and Content Words (Theory, Exercises)

Function words are those that serve important grammatical functions in relating other words together but have little meaning on their own. They include articles, auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, prepositions, pronouns, and intensifiers. Content words are the other words in English that name people, things, actions, qualities, and ideas. The document provides examples and classifications of both function and content words. It also includes exercises to identify which words in sentences are function or content words.

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1K views

Function and Content Words (Theory, Exercises)

Function words are those that serve important grammatical functions in relating other words together but have little meaning on their own. They include articles, auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, prepositions, pronouns, and intensifiers. Content words are the other words in English that name people, things, actions, qualities, and ideas. The document provides examples and classifications of both function and content words. It also includes exercises to identify which words in sentences are function or content words.

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Анастасія Низик
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© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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FUNCTION WORDS AND CONTENT WORDS

A. Function words
Function words are those that often have little meaning in the dictionary' sense but which serve
important functions in relating other words in the language to each other. By ' function
words ' we mean words that do not belong to one of the four major pails of speech in
English (noun, verb, adjective, adverb). Their purpose is not only to express meaning but to
relate other words to each other. These are the words you must know in order to speak or
understand English with any fluency at all.
Among the function words are articles, auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, prepositions, pronouns,
substitute nouns, intensifiers and other specialized expressions. They also include numerals,
days of the week, and months of the year.
1. Articles
This is the traditional term for a, an, and the. Some and any should be included among articles.
2. Auxiliary Verbs
These are the 'helping' verbs that can be combined with various parts of other verbs to make
verb phrases. The most common auxiliary verbs are be, have and do.
In addition, we have the modals: can., could, may, might, must, and shall. Should, will, would,
as well as dare, and need under certain conditions.
As well as the phrases ought to, used to, and (be) supposed to.
The auxiliary verbs be, have and do and the modal verbs are often prominent:
• in negative forms I CAN'T wait.
• for special emphasis I SHOULD have left earlier.
• when they are not followed by a verb. He doesn’t know that I’m happy but I AM.
Do, did and does are often made prominent for emphasis with the present and past simple:
I DO like this cheese. We DID warn you.

3. Conjunctions
Conjunctions jo in various parts of sentence together. There are two kinds of conjunctions:
coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
a. Coordinating conjunctions
These join matching structures, that is, they join nouns to nouns, verbs to verbs, adjectives
to adjectives and so on. They are: and, but, yet, or, nor

b. Correlative conjunctions
These are paired conjunctions that link balanced words, phrases, clauses: (either).. .or,
(neither). .. nor.
c. Subordinating conjunctions.
These are the words that introduce adjectival and adverbial clauses The constructions
they introduce contain subjects and verbs, but cannot stand alone as independent sentences.
4. Prepositions
These make up an extremely important class of function words. The prepositions in the
list of function words are :
about before for out until
above behind from outside up
across below in over upon
after beside inside since with
against between into through within
along beyond of throughout without
among to around down during
off toward as on under
at except onto underneath

5. Pronouns
These words take the place of nouns. They include personal (I, we, you, they, he, she, it /
me, you, him, her, us, them), possessive pronouns in conjoint form (my, your, his/her, our,
their) and indefinite pronouns (anybody, anyone, anything, everybody, nobody, nothing).
Demonstrative pronouns when followed by a noun are not stressed. This book is
interesting.
Possesive pronouns in absolute form are usually stressed. That ticket is mine.

6. Substitute Nouns
These expressions resemble pronouns in that they echo, or replace a noun in a contact, but
for grammatical reason it is convenient to separate them from the pronouns.

These words are:


all the (least) one
another less ( the) other
any (a) little others
both (a) lot several
either lots some
Enough many such
(a) few more that/ those
(a great) deal most this/ these
much none

7. Intensifiers
These are traditionally called adverbs, but they behave in special ways and are better
treated separately. They come just before adjectives and adverbs (except for enough,
which follows them) and express a degree of quality named by the latter word.
Here are the ones on the list: almost, awfully, enough, fairly, hardly, just, pretty, quite,
rather, really, right, scarcely, somewhat, terribly, too.

8. Construction there is, there are are not stressed.

B. Content Words

Beside the function words above, we call the rest of words in English "the content words".
These words name and describe the infinitive number of things, persons. events, and
processes that speakers of English want to talk about.
Content words can be divided into three general classes: (1) words naming things,
ideas, entities. (2) words naming actions, and (3) words used to describe the qualities
of those things or actions. These divisions correspond closely to the traditional parts of
speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Words like no, not and never are also stressed.

NB! ANY WORD CAN BE GIVEN AN EXTRA STRESS TO EMPHASIZE OR


CLARIFY A STATEMENT. IT DEPENDS ON A SPEAKER.
EXERCISE 1

A. Each of the following sets of words is made up entirely of function words or


content words, with one exception. There is one word in each set that does not
match the others. Choose one word in each set that is different from the others

1. table chair and lamp rug


2. head fool shoe run my
3. cold house where red ugly
4. who work but is around
5. over her any think will
6. their sing cat jump climb
7. bush themselves before while as
8. true it false truth sleep
9. full empty cup any bear
10. about between because saw him
11. through heat hit hat ball
12. book light leave justice none
13. rock would writing stone mountain
14. may although honesty across around
15. fish unless riding swimming painting

B. Write F for function word and C for content word for the italicized words in the sentences
below.

1. I would do the same myself if I were in your place.


2. I tried to ride a bicycle but I fell off three times.
3. I shall expect to see you next Wednesday.
4. These apples won't keep, they are too soft.
5. I haven't had enough time to finish what I intended to do.
6. You must leave the country at once.
7. People mustn't fish in this river.
8. The football match will take place tomorrow afternoon.
9. Last night I went to the cinema and saw James Bond's latest film.
10. I was previously employed in a large shop in this city, and my employers
considered me to be very capable.
11. When I get back I'll give you the money I borrowed from you yesterday.
12. I can't do it now, but I expect I can do it next week.
13. By the time we reach the hill, the enemy will have cut us off from the rest of our men.
14. If you can't type any better than this, you had better not type at all.
15. I waited for you till six o'clock yesterday, but you didn't come.
16. He can come in when I have finished my work.
17. That is the last time I saw him.
18. I have flown about a million kilometers.
19. I am giving a party to all my friends this week.
20. I am trying to find out when her birthday is.
Decide which words are function and content words in the following sentences.

 Mary has lived in England for ten years.


 He's going to fly to Chicago next week.
 I don't understand this chapter of the book.
 The children will be swimming in the ocean this time next week.
 John had eaten lunch before his colleague arrived.
 The best time to study is early in the morning or late in the evening.
 The trees along the river are beginning to blossom.
 Our friends called us yesterday and asked if we'd like to visit them next month.
 You'll be happy to know that she's decided to take the position.
 I won't give away your secret.

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