word classes in syntax

Word classes

Word classes or part of speech is one of the grammatical groups, such as noun, verb and adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction, and determiner into which words are divided depending on their use. Word classes divided into two, they are: Closed and open word classes

1.   Closed word classes

Some classes of words are called closed because they contain a relatively small number of items to which no new words can normally be added. These are words (prepositions and conjunctions) which make connections (connectives or connectors), pronouns and words (including articles) like the, some, and each that co-occur with nouns - these are called determiners.

Closed word classes including to:

Pronoun: A pronoun is a substitute for a noun or a noun phrase. Example: She, them, who, that, himself   Conjunction: A conjunction is a connector. A coordinate conjunction connects words or groups of words that are grammatically the same. A subordinate conjunction connects a subordinate, or dependent, clause to a main clause. Example: And, but, if, or, while, unless   Preposition: A preposition is a connector that introduces a prepositional phrase. It usually connects a noun or noun phrase to the part of the sentence modified by the whole prepositional phrase, and it shows the relation between the two. Example : In, across, at, by, near, within Determiner: A word which co-occurs with a noun to show meanings such as number, quantity or identity (the, some, each). Example A, the, any, my, those, which

2.  Open word classes

Other classes of word are constantly being added to. Each contains a vast number of terms already. They are open to new words being introduced. The open classes are nouns, verbs and the words which qualify them, adjectives and adverbs. These form the bulk of a language's vocabulary or lexis (also lexicon, though this sometimes refers to a published version). These classes may be called lexical whereas the closed-class words are structural or functional. These tables illustrate the two kinds of word class.

Open word classes including to:

Noun: A noun is a name for someone or something. It can be someone or something in particular, or someone or something in general. Example: Abstract: fear, joy Concrete: chair, mud Common: boy, town Proper: Fred, Hull Verb: A verb is the action word in a statement. Some verbs link the subject to a noun, pronoun, or adjective. Example: Transitive: bite, steal                              Intransitive: live, cry                              Modal: can, will, may                              Auxiliary: be, have, do   Adjective: An adjective is a modifier. Usually it modifies, or makes more exact, the meaning of a noun or pronoun. Example: Descriptive: lazy, tall                               Comparative: lazier                               Superlative: tallest   Adverb: An adverb is a modifier. Usually it modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Example: Manner: reluctantly, keenly, easily, softly Time: soon, often Place: here, there