What is a function word?

Definition

A function word is a word which have no lexical meaning, and whose sole function is to express grammatical relationships.

Also known as:

grammatical word, empty word, functor

Concept module: function word
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): F
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 23 April 2002