FUNCTIONAL CATEGORIES

BY :
DITA A RUKMANA
LIA HIKMA

Functional categories are parts of

speech that provide inflectional or
grammatical information for phrases
and clauses. Examples include :
a. Determiners (articles)
b. Auxialary verb
c. Preposition
d. Conjunction

Determiners (article)

A word that is used before a noun and

functions as an adjective.There are
three articles in the english language :
a,an,and the.

Indefinite articles

.A and an are indefinite

articles,which means that they refer to
or introduce an unspecified noun.
example:
a. A man gave us directions to the
airport.
b. An article in the paper caught
my attention

Definite articles

The is the one and only definite

article in english, which means that it
refers to or introduces a particular
specific noun,
example :
- I could tell you to meet me at the top
of the Empire state building.

Auxialary verb
Auxiliary verbs are sometimes called helping verbs
because they are needed to form many of the tenses.
The most used auxiliary verbs are the verbs to be, to
do and to have.
For example:
a. The auxiliary to do is needed to ask questions in the
present and past simple tenses.
b.The auxialary to be is needed for the present and
past continuous, and all the passive forms.
c. The auxiliary to have is used in the present and past
perfect tenses. Some tenses, like the present perfect
continuous, need more than one auxiliary!

Here are some examples of the common

auxiliary verbs in action

Do you like German food?

Does your mother speak English?
Did you come to school yesterday?
Why are you talking? You should be listening to me!
I was having a bath when you called!
A new road is being built behind the school.
Have you done your homework?
My father has never visited the USA.
How long have you been living in Germany?
By this time next year I will have been learning
English for 35 years!

PREPOSITION

Prepositions are words which link

nouns,pronouns and phrases to other words
in a sentence.
Prepositions usually describe the position of
something, the time when something
happens and the way in which something is
done, although the prepositions "of," "to," and
"for" have some separate functions.
Prepositions can also be used to end
sentences. For example, "What did you put
that there for?"

some examples of how prepositions are

used in sentences
FUNCTION

SENTENCE

POSITION

The cat is under the table.

He is sitting on the chair.
The pencil is in the box.

TIME

The class starts at 8 am.

I am going to Spain on
Wednesday.

HOW SOMETHING IS DONE

We travelled by car

POSSESSION

The book belongs to Colin.

The door of the house is red.

CONJUNCTION

A word that functions as a connector

between words, phrases, and clauses.
There are coordinating, and
subordinating conjunctions.

Coordinating
Conjunction

Seven conjunctions used to connect

related sentences, words, or phrases
are and, but,or,nor,so,for,yet. They are
called coordinating conjunctions.
Example :
a. I will buy milk and eggs.
b. We want to go to the movie, but we
dont have enough money.

Subordinating
Conjunctions

Words used to introduce adverb clauses are

called subordinating conjunctions. These words
not only introduce the subordinating clause but
link it to the main clause. Their chief function is
to make clear exactly what is the relation
between the two clauses.

The most common subordinating

conjunctions are these :
after

As though

provided

eventhoug
h

whenever

although

because

since

unless

where

as

before

So that

untill

while

as if

if

though

when

Example :
a. More people came in after the
movie started.
b. Sally will be late for the party
because she must work until nine.
c. Please tell me if you will be late for
dinner.

THANK YOU