Internal Structure

Belonging to a grammatical category consisting of a small closed word set (DeCarrico 2000:121), prepositions show no inflectional variation (Huddleston 1984:336). Most grammarians, however, describe a difference between simple and complex prepositions (Huddleston 1984:341). Simple prepositions, which are the majority of prepositions in the English language, consist of one word such as about, by, for, in, of, on, and with (Huddleston 1984:341; DeCarrico 2000:129; O’Dwyer 2000:95). Some grammarians also include a subclass under simple prepositions called “ing” prepositions such as concerning and including as in The book concerning English grammar was already checked out and The lists of words including prepositions was not exhaustive (O’Dwyer 2000:96). Prepositions ending with ing are often difficult to identify because their form is similar to present participles and gerunds but can be distinguished from similar forms with different functions by the existence of a noun phrases as their complements as well as the function of the prepositional phrase (O’Dwyer 2000:96). For example, the difference between the preposition concerning in the sentence Concerning the meeting, we should review our notes and the present participle playing in the sentence Playing the radio loudly, he missed my telephone call is that the preposition concerning functions as an adverbial modifying the entire clause we should review our notes while the present participle playing functions as the head of a verb clause modifying only the noun phrase he.

Unlike simple prepositions, complex prepositions are periphrastic consisting of two to four words including at least one simple preposition such as because of and in spite of in The cake was destroyed because of the mischievous dog and She earned her degree in linguistics in spite of her overly-supportive family (Huddleston 1984:341; O’Dwyer 2000:96-97). Also known as phrasal prepositions, complex prepositions are considered complex because their structure usually contains multiple prepositions, creating the appearance of more than one prepositional phrase (O’Dwyer 2000:96). However, the complex preposition with regard to in with regard to the nurturing supervisor does not have the same structure as the simple prepositions after and of in after many years of the tyrannical dean. Instead, the structure of the prepositional phrase with regard to the nurturing supervisor is primarily distinguished from the structure of the other prepositional phrase after many years of the tyrannical dean by the form of their heads (Huddleston 1984:341). Whereas the head of the second prepositional phrase is the simple preposition after, the head of the first prepositional phrase is the complex preposition with regard to. The complex preposition with regard to, although containing two prepositions and one noun in form, functions similarly to a single-word simple preposition as in regarding the nurturing supervisor (O’Dwyer 2000:96).

Prepositional phrases headed by complex prepositions are also distinguished from prepositional phrases containing other prepositional phrases by the grammaticality of the possible lexical items that create complex prepositions. Complex prepositions, unlike prepositional phrases containing other prepositional phrases, are idiomatic. The meaning of a complex preposition is determined by all the words as a whole. For example, the noun regard in the complex preposition with regard to cannot be substituted by any other noun without changing the form, function, and ultimately meaning of the preposition. In the prepositional phrase with regard to the nurturing supervisor, the noun regard cannot be replaced by the noun love to form the prepositional phrase with love to the nurturing supervisor with changing the phrase from a prepositional phrase headed by a complex preposition to a prepositional phrase containing another prepositional phrase. But, any number of noun phrases can form the complement of the simple preposition after in the prepositional phrase after many years of the tyrannical dean without changing the form or function of the head after. Therefore, the form and function of the prepositional phrases after decades of the tyrannical dean and after twelve anguish-inducing seconds of the tyrannical dean are similar to after many years of the tyrannical dean. The noun in a complex preposition like with regard to also functions differently from a noun phrasal functioning as the complement of a simple preposition in that the noun lacks the functional potential to take modifiers. For example, the noun years in the prepositional phrase after many years of the tyrannical dean has the functional potential to take the adjective many as well as any number of other modifiers. The noun regard, however, in the complex prepositional phrase with regard to the nurturing supervisor lacks the functional potential to take any modifier.

Because the form of prepositions is relatively invariable, some grammarians consider the internal structure of prepositional phrases more important than the internal structure of prepositions. As defined by Paul J. Hopper (1999) in A Short Course in Grammar, prepositions are “words that begin a prepositional phrase” (31). Such definition is again vague and rather circular in describing both prepositions and prepositional phrases. Instead, a more precise formal definition for prepositional phrases is that a prepositional phrase has an internal structure of a head in the form of a preposition directly followed by a prepositional complement in the form of a noun phrase (O’Dwyer 2000:94, 123, 129; Hopper 1999:31, 115). Examples of prepositional phrases include to Harry and because of the extremely tiny but wiry puppy, which are formed respectively by the prepositions to and because of directly followed by the noun phrases Harry and the extremely tiny but wiry puppy. Prepositional phrases also cannot be interrupted by intervening elements (Jacobs 1995:246). Therefore, the sentence James glanced lovingly at his wife is grammatical but *James glanced at lovingly his wife is not because the adverb lovingly cannot interrupt the head and complement of the prepositional phrase.

Although prepositions normally precede their complements in English grammar as in prepositional phrases (Huddleston 1984:337), prepositions can appear in constructions apart from their complements and even without complements (Huddleston 1984:338; Jacobs 1995:245). In English, interrogative sentences are form either by inserting a do operator or fronting the first auxiliary verb to create a yes-no question as in The cat likes tuna and Does the cat like tuna? or The puppy had been chewing on his toy and Had the puppy been chewing on his toy? or by fronting a wh word to create an open-ended question as in I gave three pumpkins to my little cousins and To whom did I give three pumpkins? (Jacobs 1995:246; Huddleston 1984:338). In the example I gave three pumpkins to my little cousins, the prepositional phrase to my little cousins consists of the head to and the complement my little cousins. To create an interrogative sentence, the prepositional complement is first replaced by a wh word as in I gave three pumpkins to whom and then the entire prepositional phrase containing the wh word is fronted and a do operator inserted to create the question To whom did I give three pumpkins? But, in English, an interrogative can also be formed by fronting only the wh word as in Who did I give three pumpkins to? (Jacobs 1995:245). Both forms are grammatically possible in English (Huddleston 1984:338). The difference, then, between To whom did I give three pumpkins? and Who did I give three pumpkins to? is a question of style, with the former more formal and the later more informal, rather than a matter of grammaticality.

In addition to immediately preceding and existing apart from their complements, prepositions can also appear in a form that lacks a prepositional complement such as the prepositions up and down in the examples The baby finally shut up and The woman reading quietly shot down the annoying man who asked for her phone number (Hopper 1999:31). Prepositions without complements are termed “marooned” prepositions (Hopper 1999:31, 121). Even though the annoying man at first appears to be a prepositional complement, the noun phrase is actually a direct object of the phrasal verb shot down, which means both up and down are marooned prepositions because neither have a prepositional complement. Marooned prepositions most frequently appear with phrasal verbs such as put up with in the example The tolerant man put up with the cat attacking the dog and as verb phrase complements such as take out in the example She took the trash out to the curb. Marooned prepositions in phrasal verb constructions are also termed “particles” (Jacobs 1995: 248).

Functional Potential

Although relatively invariable in form, prepositions and prepositional phrases are among the most versatile structures in the English language with a considerable variety of functional potential (DeCarrico 2000:121; Huddleston 1984:336). Huddleston (1984) identifies the primary functional potential of prepositions as taking noun phrases as complements and functioning as complements or modifiers for various other constructions (336). As abovementioned in the discussion about the form of prepositional phrases, prepositions have the functional potential to take noun phrases as complements such as the dog bowl and Monday in the prepositional phrases in the dog bowl and on Monday. The preposition preceding the complement such as during of during the football game and beneath of beneath the tree likewise function as the heads of the prepositional phrases.

Prepositions within the larger construction of the prepositional phrase also function as complements or modifiers to other structures including noun phrases, adjective phrases, and verb phrases (DeCarrico 2000:122). In the examples the painter of the famous watercolor and the especially tiny woman with the German hips, the prepositional phrases of the famous watercolor and with the German hips function respectively as the complement of the noun phrase the painter and as the modifier of the noun phrase the especially tiny woman (Huddleston 1984:336). As noun phrase modifiers, prepositional phrases function similarly to adjective phrases to describe or modify a noun phrase such as in the noun phrase the blue-haired lady in which the adjective phrase blue-haired describes the lady and in the noun phrase the lady with blue hair in which the prepositional phrase with blue hair also describes the noun phrase the lady (Hopper 1999:115). Prepositional phrases likewise function as complements of adjective phrases as in of clowns in afraid of clowns and as complements of verb phrases as in to the Jonas Brothers in listen to the Jonas Brothers as well as modifiers of adjective phrases like along the beach in green along the beach and modifiers of verb phrases like during the performance in danced during the performance (DeCarrico 2000:122, 124; Huddleston 1984:336).

Prepositional phrases functioning as complements differ from prepositional phrases functioning as modifiers in that the head of the noun, adjective, or verb phrase imposes collocation restrictions on the preposition (Huddleston 1984:336). In the example the painter of the famous watercolor and the similar example the author of the book, only a prepositional phrase with the head of following the noun phrase establishes a relationship between the creator and creation. Conversely, noun phrases with prepositional phrases as modifiers can precede almost any preposition as in the woman with the hips, the woman behind the tree, and the woman up the hill. Although adjective phrase complements are optional for some adjectives like green in green along the beach and sad in sad for the accident victims, certain adjectives like afraid and aware require complements as in the example afraid of clowns and the similar example aware of the dire consequences (Huddleston 1984:336; DeCarrico 2000:124). Such adjectives as afraid and aware also impose collocation restrictions on the subsequent preposition; the adjective afraid can be followed by the prepositions of and for but not on or under as in The mother was afraid for the little boy but not *The mother was afraid under the little boy.

Complements of verb phrases also differ from modifiers of verb phrases because the head of the verb phrase likewise imposes collocation restrictions on the head of the prepositional phrase (Huddleston 1984:336). In the example danced during the performance, the prepositional phrase during the performance modifies the verb phrase danced but is not determined by the head of the verb phrase. Any number of prepositions can replace the preposition during without changing the grammaticality of the phrase such as danced after the performance, danced in the performance, and danced despite the performance. When the prepositional phrase functions as a complement of the verb phrase, however, the head of the verb phrase determines the head of the prepositional phrase. Verbs such as listen and rely require specific prepositions for the prepositional phrase to function as a complement (DeCarrico 2000:124). Therefore, the verb phrases listen to the wind and rely on his wife are grammatical but *listen between the wind and *rely beside his wife are ungrammatical. Prepositional phrases can furthermore function as either modifiers or complements for verbs like listen depending on the preposition in the head of the prepositional phrase; the prepositional phrase to the wind functions as a complement in the verb phrase listen to the wind while despite the wind functions as a modifier in listen despite the wind.

Some verbs such as rely and approve allow only one preposition such as on and of as the head of the prepositional phrase functioning as a complement to the verb phrase as in has relied on his salary and will have approved of the procedures. Other verbs like listen and look permit multiple prepositions that create different meanings like to and for and at and in to occupy the head of the prepositional phrase functioning as a verb phrase complement as in listen to the music and listen for the train and look at the kitten and look in the oven. Verbs with fixed sets of prepositions that can function as the head of the prepositional phrase functioning as the complement to the verb phrase are termed “prepositional” verbs (Hopper 1999:126). As described by Jeannette S. DeCarrico (2000) in The Structure of English, prepositional verbs form syntactic constituents; the relationship between the verb and the preposition is dictated by the syntax (132). For example, in the verb phrase containing a prepositional verb argue about her new duties, the verb argue requires the preposition about but still means “dispute an issue” just as in the sentence Jack and Jill argue; the preposition about, although obligatory with the verb argue, similarly still means “indicating a relationship” just as in the noun phrase the book about grammar (O’Dwyer 2000:94). Additional examples of prepositional verbs include cope with, argue with, care about, and object to (DeCarrico 2000:132). Prepositional verbs are always intransitive, consisting of a verb phrase followed by a prepositional phrase, which functions as the verb phrase complement.

Similar to prepositional verbs in that the preposition is obligatory, prepositions follow verbs to create a verb form termed “phrasal” verbs (Hopper 1999:122; DeCarrico 2000:132). Unlike prepositional verbs, however, phrasal verbs always consist of a verb phrase followed by a marooned preposition functioning as a particle as in the examples shut up and pass out (Hopper 1999:122). As described by DeCarrico (2000), phrasal verbs form semantic constituents; the relationship between the verb and the preposition is determined by the meaning of the phrasal verb as a single lexical item (DeCarrico 2000:132-133). For example, the phrasal verb run into is quite semantically different from the verb and preposition run into in the sentences The man ran into the burning building after turning the corner and The man ran into the burning building to save the puppy. In the first example of run into as a phrasal verb meaning “to encounter,” the verb run and the preposition into form a constituent to which the noun phrase the burning building is the direct object. The phrasal verb run into could also be replaced by the verb encounter as in the sentence The man encountered the burning building after turning the corner without significantly altering the meaning. In the second example of run into as a verb and preposition, the preposition into functions as the head of the prepositional phrase into the burning building. The prepositional phrase into the burning building then functions as the complement of the verb phrase ran. Although functionally different, the semantic difference between the first run into and the second run into is more striking. In the first sentence, the man turned the corner and then encountered a building on fire. In the second sentence, the man physically entered the building on fire to rescue the puppy; the preposition into describes the direction in which the man ran. Phrasal verbs are therefore idiomatic because the meaning of the phrasal verbs cannot be deduced from the individual words in their form (Hopper 1999:122). The phrasal verb look into as a synonym for investigate cannot be defined by combining the definitions of the verb look and the preposition into just as put up with cannot be determined to mean tolerate by individually analyzing the three words from which the phrasal verb is formed (Jacobs 1995:162). Therefore, the phrasal verb run into can only be understood idiomatically as a single unit meaning “to encounter,” but the preposition of the verb and preposition run into can be replaced by other prepositions such as around and from to describe a different direction in which the ran man without altering the meaning of the verb run.

Also unlike prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs may be either transitive or intransitive (Jacobs 1995:248). In the example My neighbor looks down on rowdy children, the phrasal verb looks down on is transitive because the noun phrase rowdy children is the direct object of the verb phrase. Conversely, the phrasal verb pass out is intransitive as in the example The extremely pregnant woman passed out because the verb phrase as a synonym for faint cannot take an object. Phrasal verbs are also separable or nonseparable, meaning the preposition may or may not be required to directly follow the verb (Jacobs 1995:248-249). Within separable phrasal verbs, the preposition is allowed to move from the position adjacent to the verb to another position in the sentence such as in the phrasal verb look up in the examples James looked up the word in the dictionary and James looked the word up in the dictionary (Jacobs 1995:248). Other phrasal verbs are nonseparable because the preposition must allows directly follow the verb as in the phrasal verb get away with in the example He got away with the crime but not *He got the crime away with or *He got away the crime with (Jacobs 1995:249).

The formal difference between prepositions and adverbs is sometimes difficult to determine because marooned prepositions function similarly to adverbs functioning as verb phrase complements (Hopper 1999:31-32). Hopper (1999) offers the example of the preposition down and the adverb ashore (32). Since one primary function potential of prepositions is taking noun phrases as complements, the word ashore is clearly not a preposition because the prepositional phrase *ashore the island in the example *The pirates sent a boat ashore the island is impossible and ungrammatical. The word down, however, does have the functional potential to take a noun phrase as a complement as in the prepositional phrase down the beach in the example The pirates sent a boat down the beach. The ambiguity between prepositions and adverbs arises when a preposition lacks a complement. Both ashore and down function as the head of the verb phrase complement in the examples The pirates sent a boat ashore and The pirates sent a boat down the beach. However, the noun phrase the beach can be eliminated without changing the grammaticality of the sentence as in The pirates send a boat down. The word down still functions as a verb phrase complement but now appears to have the form of an adverb. However, with the functional potential to take a noun phrase as a complement, the word down still also remains a preposition in form.

Finally, prepositional phrases also function as adverbials and adjuncts to clause structures (DeCarrico 2000:122; Hopper 1999:119). For example, the prepositional phrase In my opinion formed from the preposition in and the noun phrase my opinion functions as an adjunct in the sentence In my opinion, preservation is vital to all libraries. As Hopper (1999) defines, adjuncts frame an entire clause (66-67). Therefore, the prepositional phrase In my opinion frames the entire clause preservation is vital to all libraries as my opinion. Adjuncts are similar to complements of noun phrases, adjective phrases, and verb phrases (O’Dwyer 2000:172). Other examples of adjuncts include with all due respect and for the love of God. Prepositional phrases also function as adverbials, which Hopper (1999) defines as phrases that express time, place, or manner of a clause (67). For example, the prepositional phrase in the dark forest functions as an adverbial to the clause The army encountered fierce warriors in the sentence The army encountered fierce warriors in the dark forest by expressing the place in which the main clause occurred (Hopper 1999:119). Thus, the prepositional phrase in the dark forest describes the place in which the entire clause occurred. Adverbials function similarly to modifiers of noun phrases, adjective phrases, and verb phrases (O’Dwyer 2000:172). Both adjuncts and adverbials are optional and can be removed without changing the grammaticality of the main clause.

References

DeCarrico, Jeanette S. 2000. The Structure of English: Studies in form and function for language teaching. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Hopper, Paul J. 1999. A short course in grammar. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Huddleston, Rodney. 1984. Introduction to the grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jacobs, Roderick A. 1995. English syntax: A grammar for English language professionals. New York: Oxford University Press.
O’Dwyer, Bernard. 2000. Modern English structures: Form, function, and position. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press.

Defining Form and Function

All languages contain a finite, or limited, number of grammatical forms. Traditional grammars use the term “parts of speech” as the term for “what a word, phrase, or clause looks like.” The English language has only eight grammatical forms or parts of speech:

1. Noun
2. Adjective
3. Determiner
4. Verb
5. Adverb
6. Preposition
7. Conjunction
8. Interjection

All languages, too, contain a finite, or limited, number of grammatical functions. Traditional grammars do not have a term for grammatical form, which is “what a word, phrase, or clause does.” Although my count may differ from the count of other grammarians, I have identified thirty grammatical functions in the English language:

1. Subject
2. Predicate
3. Direct Object
4. Indirect Object
5. Subject Complement (Predicate Nominative and Predicate Adjective)
6. Object Complement
7. Prepositional Complement
8. Noun Phrase Modifier
9. Noun Phrase Complement
10. Possessive Modifier
11. Possessive Modifier Complement
12. Appositive
13. Adjective Phrase Modifier
14. Adjective Phrase Complement
15. Verb Phrase Modifier
16. Verb Phrase Complement
17. Progressive
18. Perfect
19. Passive
20. Modal
21. Operator
22. Adverb Phrase Modifier
23. Adverbial
24. Determinative
25. Particle
26. Infinitive Marker
27. Coordinator
28. Subordinator
29. Correlator
30. Interjector

Of the eight grammatical forms, some forms can perform only one function while other forms can perform multiple functions. And, of the thirty-one grammatical functions, some functions can be performed by only one form while other functions can be performed by multiple forms. I get this. Form. Function. No big deal. But, clearly not all grammar students do understand the difference.

Using Metaphor

Most English teachers love to talk about metaphor. And, I think, most students at some level can grasp the idea of metaphor. So, why not use a metaphor to clarify the difference between grammatical form and grammatical function? Let’s look at people and their occupations.

First, let’s assume that we are in a world in which two types of people exist: men and women. Since we do live in this kind of world, the concept of two types of people, or forms, is relatively easy to grasp. So, the two forms of people are:

1. Man
2. Woman

But, what if, unlike in our world, there are only three occupations that people can have. Pretend that the people in this metaphorical world can choose to be mothers, fathers, or teachers. These three jobs are the only ones available. And, since occupations are something people do, let’s call these jobs functions. So, the three functions of people are:

1. Mother
2. Father
3. Teacher

We now have our two forms (man, woman) and three functions (mother, father, teacher). The forms are what people look like, and the functions are what people do. Still with me? Now let’s see which forms can perform which functions and which functions can be performed by which forms.

What functions can the form of man do? Well, men can be fathers, and men can be teachers. So, we can say that the functions of the form man are father and teacher. Similarly, woman can be mothers, and women can be teachers. So, the functions of the form woman are mother and teacher.

The idea of only women being mothers and only men being fathers is pretty easy to understand. If a man has a child, he is called a father. If a woman has a child, she is called a mother. A man cannot be a mother, and a woman cannot be a father. That’s just the way it is.

But, what about teacher? Clearly, both men and women can be teachers. There is no rule that states only men or only women can be teachers. So, the function of teacher can be performed by two forms while the functions of mother and father can only be performed by one form. Still following me?

So, to sum this metaphor up:

1. The form “man” can perform two functions: father and teacher.
2. The form “woman” can perform two functions: mother and teacher.
3. The function “mother” can be performed by one form: woman.
4. The function “father can be performed by one form: man.
5. The function “teacher” can be performed by two forms: man and woman.

Applying the Metaphor to Grammar

Now let’s apply the idea of the metaphor of people and occupations to English grammar by looking at two grammatical forms: noun and adjective.

We must first identify the functions that can be performed by the two forms. Nouns perform eleven main grammatical functions:

1. Noun phrase head
2. Subject
3. Subject complement
4. Direct object
5. Object complement
6. Indirect object
7. Prepositional complement
8. Noun phrase modifier
9. Possessive modifier
10. Appositive
11. Adverbial

Adjectives perform four main grammatical functions:

1. Adjective phrase head
2. Noun phrase modifier
3. Subject complement
4. Object complement

After just glancing at these two lists, most people can say that some of the functions are shared by nouns and adjectives while some of the functions can be formed by only one or the other. For example, the functions that can only be performed by nouns are:

1. Noun phrase head
2. Subject
3. Direct object
4. Indirect object
5. Prepositional complement
6. Possessive modifier
7. Appositive
8. Adverbial

The function that can only be performed by adjectives is:

1. Adjective phrase head

And, the functions that can be performed by both nouns and adjectives are:

1. Noun phrase modifier
2. Subject complement
3. Object complement

So, to sum up our findings:

1. The form of “noun” can perform eleven functions.
2. The form of “adjective can perform four functions.
3. Eight functions can be performed by only nouns.
4. One function can be performed by only adjectives.
5. Three functions can be performed by both nouns and adjectives.

Hopefully my comparison of people and occupations to grammatical forms and grammatical functions will help grammar students better understand the difference between form and function. Just remember: form does not equal function, but more than one form can perform the same function, and one function can be performed by more than one form.

Subordinators in English grammar are words including the function word that that introduce dependent or subordinate clauses including noun clauses, adjective clauses, and adverb clauses. Function words perform definite grammatical functions but lack definite lexical meaning.

Subordinator is a grammatical function.

The grammatical form that can function as the subordinator in English grammar is the subordinating conjunction.

The term noun clause marker is also used for subordinating conjunctions that introduce noun clauses. The term relative pronoun is also used for subordinating conjunctions that introduce adjective clauses.

Some subordinating conjunctions that function as subordinators include that, which, who, because, and after. (Note that many subordinating conjunctions perform other grammatical functions such as subject and direct object in addition to the grammatical function of subordinator.

References

Brinton, Laurel J. & Donna M. Brinton. 2010. The linguistic structure of Modern English, 2nd edn. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Hopper, Paul J. 1999. A short course in grammar. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Huddleston, Rodney. 1984. Introduction to the grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Correlators in English grammar are function words that are the first word or words in pairs of conjunctions that also join or link two or more words, phrases, and clauses. Function words perform definite grammatical functions but lack definite lexical meaning.

Correlator is a grammatical function.

The grammatical form that can function as the correlator in English grammar is the correlating conjunction.

Some correlating conjunctions in English are both, either, neither, not only, and whether.

References

Brinton, Laurel J. & Donna M. Brinton. 2010. The linguistic structure of Modern English, 2nd edn. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Hopper, Paul J. 1999. A short course in grammar. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Huddleston, Rodney. 1984. Introduction to the grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Coordinators in English grammar are function words that join or link two or more words, phrases, and clauses. Function words perform definite grammatical functions but lack definite lexical meaning.

Coordinator is a grammatical function.

The grammatical form that can function as the coordinator in English grammar is the coordinating conjunction.

The seven coordinating conjunctions in English are and, but, or, nor, so, yet, and for.

References

Brinton, Laurel J. & Donna M. Brinton. 2010. The linguistic structure of Modern English, 2nd edn. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Hopper, Paul J. 1999. A short course in grammar. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Huddleston, Rodney. 1984. Introduction to the grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Particles in English grammar are function words that express grammatical relationships with other words. Function words perform definite grammatical functions but lack definite lexical meaning.

Particle is a grammatical function.

The grammatical form that can function as the particle in English grammar is the preposition.

The prepositions of phrasal verbs, quasi-modal verbs, and some determiners function as particles.

References

Brinton, Laurel J. & Donna M. Brinton. 2010. The linguistic structure of Modern English, 2nd edn. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Hopper, Paul J. 1999. A short course in grammar. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Huddleston, Rodney. 1984. Introduction to the grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Of the following eight sentences, which contain grammatically possible uses of English pronouns?

• My husband and I went to the movies.
• Me and my husband went to the movies.
• Send the package to my husband and me.
• Send the package to my husband and I.
• The woman is she.
• The woman is her.
• His mother disapproves of his studying art.
• His mother disapproves of him studying art.

Many readers will undoubtedly proclaim that only sentences one, three, five, and seven are grammatically correct. “Why?” I will ask, to which I will receive the answer, “Because only subject pronouns can be subjects and only object pronouns can be objects.” At this point, I will shake my head and laugh in sadness for those poor English speakers who have bought into the prescriptive rules of the mythological Standard English. (All eight are grammatically possible, by the way.)

Old English and Grammatical Case

Similar to Modern German in which all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and determiners take inflections to indicate grammatical case, English also once had an extensive case system. Unlike Modern English in which word order determines the functions of nouns—the boy kicked the girl and the girl kicked the boy clearly have different meanings because of syntax—word order of Old English was much less rigid because of inflections that indicated grammatical case. In Modern English, however, the grammatical functions of nouns can only be determined by examining the order of words within a sentence.

For example, the noun phrase the chicken is just a noun phrase without any function outside the context of a sentence. However, if the noun phrase the chicken is placed into one of the following sentences, a wolf ate the chicken or the chicken ate a wolf, the noun phrase gains a grammatical function as either the direct object or the subject. Depending on the order of words, the meanings of the two sentences are drastically different. Either a large canine consumed the feathered animal, or the feathered animal (albeit amazingly) consumed a large canine. In Old English, word order was not as important to the central meaning of such as sentence because the words for the chicken and a wolf would have taken inflections that signified their functions as subjects and direct objects.

Modern English and Grammatical Function

Nouns in Modern English unarguably no longer show grammatical case but instead rely on word order to determine grammatical function. The only exception may be the English personal pronoun system. For example, the English language has different words for subject personal pronouns and object personal pronouns in all but the second person and the third person singular neuter. The subject pronouns I, he, she, we, and they are different in form from the object pronouns me, him, her, us, and them. Some grammarians therefore argue that the English language still has remnants of the Old English case system in the Modern English personal pronoun system.

I, however, must argue that the English case system has long since been dead. First, two of the English personal pronouns have the same form in both the subject and the object position: you and it. The two sentences you saw it and it saw you differ greatly in meaning but contain pronouns with the exact same form regardless of grammatical function. The subject pronouns you and it are the same in spelling and pronunciation as the object pronouns you and it. The second person and third person singular neuter pronouns no longer have separate forms for nominative versus accusative or dative functions.

Most importantly, however, the eight sentences examined at the beginning of this article prove that subject pronouns are used in object positions and object pronouns are used in subject positions in the English language. Regardless of the prescriptions and proscriptions prescriptive grammarians ascribe to the English language, English speakers use both subject and object pronouns as subjects as in sentences one, two, and eight as well as both object and subject pronouns as objects as in sentences three and four. Sentences five and six are examples of the mixed use of subject and object pronouns as subject complements. Finally, sentences seven and eight are examples of how the use of possessive determiners versus personal pronouns change verb phrases to nonfinite noun clauses which also results in a slight shift in meaning.

The English Case System Is Dead

Both Friedrich Nietzsche and Time once controversially proclaimed that God is dead. I, too, somewhat controversially proclaim that the English case system is good and dead and has been so for a long time. Although prescriptivism vehemently fights for the use of subject pronouns in subject positions only and object pronouns in object positions only, actual use of the English language proves otherwise. All eight sentences are grammatically possible. The English case system is dead.

References

Cassidy, Frederic G. & Richard N. Ringler. 1971. Bright’s Old English grammar & reader, 3rd edn. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
Hopper, Paul J. 1999. A short course in grammar. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

Pronouns are small words that can take the place of nouns and noun phrases. Personal pronouns are pronouns that take the place of common and proper nouns. The English personal pronoun system includes four types of pronouns: subject pronouns, object pronouns, possessive pronouns, and reflexive pronouns. Pronouns in English can perform five different grammatical subjects depending on the type of pronouns: subject, subject complement, direct object, indirect object, and prepositional complement.

Subject Pronouns

The English subject pronouns perform two functions in sentences: subject and subject complement. The subject pronouns in English are:

• I (first person singular)
• you (second person singular)
• he (third person singular masculine)
• she (third person singular feminine)
• it (third person singular neuter)
• we (first person plural)
• you (second person plural)
• they (third person plural)

For example:

• I am a librarian. (subject)
• He wrote the book. (subject)
• My aunt is she. (subject complement)
• The tourists are they. (subject complement)

Object Pronouns

The English object pronouns perform three traditional functions: direct object, indirect object, and prepositional complement. The object pronouns in English are:

• me (first person singular)
• you (second person singular)
• him (third person singular masculine)
• her (third person singular feminine)
• it (third person singular neuter)
• us (first person plural)
• you (second person plural)
• them (third person plural)

For example:

• My puppy licked you. (direct object)
• The man bought her chocolate. (indirect object)
• Six packages arrived for us. (prepositional complement)

The English object pronouns also function as the subject complement in all but the most formal settings. For example:

• The guest speaker is me. (subject complement)
• The winners are us. (subject complement)

Possessive Pronouns

The English possessive pronouns perform five functions: subject, subject complement, direct object, indirect object, and prepositional complement. The possessive pronouns in English are:

• mine (first person singular)
• yours (second person singular)
• his (third person singular masculine)
• hers (third person singular feminine)
• its (third person singular neuter)*
• ours (first person plural)
• yours (second person plural)
• theirs (third person plural)

For example:

• Mine is the calico cat. (subject)
• The middle desk is yours. (subject complement)
• Our neighbor bought his. (direct object)
• We bought ours healthy snacks. (indirect object)
• He can sit at theirs. (prepositional complement)

*The third person singular neuter possessive pronoun its is rarely used in standard written English.

Reflexive Pronouns

The English reflexive pronouns perform three functions: direct object, indirect object, and prepositional complement. The reflexive pronouns in English are:

• myself (first person singular)
• yourself (second person singular)
• himself (third person singular masculine)
• herself (third person singular feminine)
• itself (third person singular neuter)
• ourselves (first person plural)
• yourselves (second person plural)
• themselves (third person plural)

For example:

• I embarrassed myself at the party. (direct object)
• She wrote herself a note. (indirect object)
• He chuckled at himself. (prepositional complement)

Conclusion

Pronouns in English are one of four types: subject pronouns, object pronouns, possessive pronouns, and reflexive pronouns. The English pronouns also perform one of five functions: subject, subject complement, direct object, indirect object, and prepositional complement.

References

Hopper, Paul J. A Short Course in Grammar. W.W. Norton & Company: New York, 1999.

Source

The English Personal Pronoun System: Subject, Object, Possessive, and Reflexive Pronouns in English

Verb phrase complements in English grammar are words and phrases that complete the meaning of the verb phrase.

Verb phrase complement is a grammatical function.

The grammatical forms that can function as the verb phrase complement in English grammar are the prepositional phrase and the verb phrase.

The preposition of a prepositional verb functions as a verb phrase complement. The infinitive following catenative verbs functions as a verb phrase complement.

References

Brinton, Laurel J. & Donna M. Brinton. 2010. The linguistic structure of Modern English, 2nd edn. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Hopper, Paul J. 1999. A short course in grammar. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Huddleston, Rodney. 1984. Introduction to the grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Adverb phrase modifiers in English grammar are words and phrases that that modify or describe an adverb or adverb phrase.

Adverb phrase modifier is a grammatical function.

The grammatical form that can function as the adverb phrase modifier in English grammar is the adverb phrase.

Adverb phrase modifiers are constituents of the adverb phrase.

References

Brinton, Laurel J. & Donna M. Brinton. 2010. The linguistic structure of Modern English, 2nd edn. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Hopper, Paul J. 1999. A short course in grammar. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Huddleston, Rodney. 1984. Introduction to the grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.