UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DE MOÇAMBIQUE

INSTITUTO DE ENSINO A DISTÂNCIA (IED)

CENTRO DE RECURSOS DE PEMBA

RESEARCH ABOUT PREPOSITIONS, DETERMINERS, ADJECTIVES AND

ADVERBS.
Nome do Estudante: Francelina Americo Utumali
Nr. do Estudante: 708236889

Curso: Licenciatura em Ensino de Biologia

Disciplina: Inglês
Ano de Frequência: 1º Ano
Regime: Ensino a distância
Tutor: Nilza Nelson Manhique Chale

Pemba, Agosto de 2023

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ÍNDICE
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................3

1.RESEARCH ABOUT PREPOSITIONS, DETERMINERS, ADJECTIVES AND

ADVERBS..................................................................................................................................4

1.1.Prepositions: The Basics.......................................................................................................4

1.2.Preposition of place...............................................................................................................5

1.3.Prepositions of time..............................................................................................................6

1.4.Determiners...........................................................................................................................7

3.ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS............................................................................................9

CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................13

References.................................................................................................................................14
INTRODUCTION

This work has as its central topic: Research about prepositions, determiners, adjectives and
adverbs. In English, words are grouped into word classes based on the function they perform
in a sentence. There are nine main word classes in English; nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs,
prepositions, pronouns, determiners, conjunctions, and interjections. This explanation is all
about prepositions.
The aim of this work is to understand prepositions, determiners, adjectives and adverbs.
The methodology used was bibliographic reference, which consisted of consulting authors
who already have knowledge of the topic under study.
Its structure comprises 3 sections: introduction, development of the theme, conclusion and
bibliographic reference in which the authors consulted in the course of the work are
mentioned.

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1. RESEARCH ABOUT PREPOSITIONS, DETERMINERS, ADJECTIVES AND
ADVERBS.
1.1. Prepositions: The Basics

A preposition is a word or group of words used to link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other
words in a sentence. Some examples of prepositions are single words like in, at, on, of, to, by
and with or phrases such as in front of, next to, instead of.

Prepositions in English are most frequently dictated by fixed expressions. While there are
some general guidelines to follow, many prepositions are used idiomatically with certain
verbs. In these cases, it is best to memorize the phrase instead of the individual preposition.
repositions are the subtlest and a set of small words that are of a closed class in English
language (Huddleston, 1984, p.336). They express a relation between two entities, one being
that represented by the prepositional complement, the other by another part of the sentence.
The prepositional complement is characteristically a noun phrase, a nominal wh-clause, or a
nominal –ing clause. For instance, The book is on the table, Mary is not responsible for
what she did, Dylan read the manual before installing the system (Quirk et al. 1985,
p.657).

Prepositions do not accept new words easily, but they have notoriously polysemous
behaviours in sentences. They are difficult to learn as most of them have different
functions and they do not have many rules to help in choosing the right prepositions in a
particular context (Swan, 2005, p.425).

They combine with other parts of speech to express new meanings, and they participate in
idiomatic expressions.

For instance, Hewas angry at the weather and He was angry with me for failing to keep our
appointment. Sometimes, one preposition comes with the verb form, another with the
adjective and still another with the noun form of the root word. For instance,
sympathize with someone, sympathy for someone and sympathetic to someone
(Kennedy, 2003, p. 257).

The basic syntactic properties and semantic functions differ in many languages. In other
languages, the prepositions occur after the complement (subject-object-verb). They are called

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postpositions. In English language they are usually placed before a noun or a noun equivalent
(subject-verb-object).
Languages such as English, French, German, and numerous others are prepositional
languages whereas Korean, Turkish, Finnish, and lots of others are postpositional languages
(Endley, 2010). They often cause problems for second language learners as there are no one-
to-one correspondences between English and the other languages. Besides, many prepositions
have metaphorical and abstract meanings that a language learner finds difficult to learn. The
task of choosing the right preposition is made even more difficult when the preposition is used
together with a noun, a verb, or an adjective, especially since there are no general rules by
which a preposition is assigned. For instance, She relied on Max, similar to the other one, the
author of the book – the prepositions on, to, and of are determined by rely, similar and author
respectively.
While learning, the various meanings and meaning extensions of prepositions are perhaps the
greatest challenge. A pedagogical strategy is essential for students to pay attention to the co-
occurrence, collocation, and discourse behaviour of prepositions.
According to Lindstromberg (1998) prepositions are traditionally classified into three
categories: prepositions of place, of direction (or motion or movement) and of time. These
prepositions pose a challenge to the learners as well as teachers of English because of the
uniqueness of the problem involved. The learners face difficulties in the proper usage of
prepositions in sentences, and therefore, land in trouble.
Besides that, each of these prepositions has various meanings and usages that make the
learning process equally difficult. InEnglish, many prepositions are used to describe both
spatial and temporal relationships (Clark, 1973; Bennett, 1975; Jackendoff, 1983).

1.2. Preposition of place

We can use prepositions of place to say where things are. in / on / under / behind / in front
of / next to / between.
 We use ‘at’ to talk about a place as a point.
 We use ‘in’ to talk about a place as an area.
 We use ‘on’ to talk about a place as a surface.

1. We use ‘at’ when we are thinking of a place as a point in space.

She waited at the bus stop for over twenty minutes.

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‘Where were you last night?’ - ‘At Mick's house.’

2. We also use ‘at’ with words such as ‘back’, ‘bottom’, ‘end’, ‘front’, and ‘top’ to talk about
the different parts of a place.

Mrs Castle was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

They escaped by a window at the back of the house.

I saw a taxi at the end of the street.

We use ‘at’ with public places and institutions. Note that we also say ‘at home’ and ‘at work’.

I have to be at the station by ten o'clock.

We landed at a small airport.

A friend of mine is at Training College.

She wanted to stay at home.

We say ‘at the corner’ or ‘on the corner’ when we are talking about streets.

The car was parked at the corner of the street.

There's a telephone box on the corner.

We say ‘in the corner’ when we are talking about a room.

She put the chair in the corner of the room.

My dad is in the kitchen

1.3. Prepositions of time.

We use "at" to express a precise time
 at 5 o'clock
 at 11:30 pm
 at lunchtime
 at the moment
 at midnight
 at sunrise
 at sunset
We use "on" before days and dates.
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  on Friday
 on Mondays
 on 4 July
 on 17 March 1966
 on Children's Day
 on his birthday
 on Mother's Day

We use "in" before months,years,cen turies and long period of time.

 in November
 in winter
 in 2001
 in the 20th century
 in Stone Age
1.4. Determiners

The term determiner is used to describe the grammatical element that comes at the beginning
of a noun phrase. A determiner is an obligatory element of a noun phrase, the only other
obligatory member of which is the noun itself.
Noun phrases are one of the constituents of a sentence. A noun cannot appear by itself: it
must minimally be preceded by a determiner. Since every noun requires a determiner, it is
not surprising that determiners constitute some of the most frequent words in the
language. In the Cobuild frequency count (Sinclair, 1990, p. 143), the most frequent form
in the language is the, the fifth most frequent is a, and the top 100 forms include twelve
central determiners.
The term determiner is used to describe the grammatical element that comes at the beginning
of a noun phrase. A determiner is an obligatory element of a noun phrase, the only other
obligatory member of which is the noun itself.
Noun phrases are one of the constituents of a sentence. A noun cannot appear by itself: it must
minimally be preceded by a determiner. Since every noun requires a determiner, it is not
surprising that determiners constitute some of the most frequent words in the language. In
the Cobuild frequency count, the most frequent form in the language is the, the fifth most
frequent is a, and the top 100 forms include twelve central determiners.

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The term determiner is used to describe the grammatical element that comes at the beginning
of a noun phrase. A determiner is an obligatory element of a noun phrase, the only other
obligatory member of which is the noun itself.
Noun phrases are one of the constituents of a sentence. A noun cannot appear by itself: it
must minimally be preceded by a determiner. Since every noun requires a determiner, it is
not surprising that determiners constitute some of the most frequent words in the
language. In the Cobuild frequency count (Sinclair, 1990, p. 143), the most frequent form
in the language is the, the fifth most frequent is a, and the top 100 forms include twelve
central determiners.
The term determiner is used to describe the grammatical element that comes at the beginning
of a noun phrase. A determiner is an obligatory element of a noun phrase, the only other
obligatory member of which is the noun itself.
Noun phrases are one of the constituents of a sentence. A noun cannot appear by itself: it
must minimally be preceded by a determiner. Since every noun requires a determiner, it is
not surprising that determiners constitute some of the most frequent words in the
language.
In the Cobuild frequency count (Sinclair, 1990, p. 143), the most frequent form in the
language is the, the fifth most frequent is a, and the top 100 forms include twelve central
determiners.
The determiners in English constitute a relatively new class of grammatical items in the
history of English linguistics. Determiner as a grammatical category is not defined at
all in Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (1960) and the words that constitute
determiners are still referred to as adjectives in many modern dictionaries (e.g., Random
House, 1989).

The justification for the new category is made clear in Klegr (1987, p. 32):

When the noun has become so restricted morphologically as in English, it seems natural to
turn to the existing specialized items at hand to provide the necessary signals for it. This
new and important function of deictics and quantifiers has been recognized by
distinguishing a new class of grammatical items: determiners.

Barrie (1971, p. 331) describes the determiners as:

. . . aspectual and/or modal particles [that give] a particular colouring to the nouns
they introduce, in much the same way as the different forms or auxiliaries of the
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 English verb serve to convey aspectual or modal information, and enjoying a
semi-autonomous existence, in the sense that they sometimes modify strongly the
value of the noun they preface and sometimes merely reinforce it in a way that is
possibly redundant. Klegr (1987) concludes that "the function of determiners appears
to be to provide grammatical status combined with specific semantic reference"
(p. 31).

Predeterminers Central Determiners Postdeterminers

quantifiers (e.g., articles (a, the, Ø) cardinal numerals (e.g.,
all) two)
multipliers (e.g., demonstratives (e.g., this) ordinal numerals (e.g.,
both, first)
twice, double)
fractions (e.g., half, possessives (e.g., my, general ordinals (e.g.,
one-third) John's) next)
intensifiers (e.g. assertive/nonassertive (e.g., quantifiers (e.g., many,
what, such) some) few, several, little)
negative (i.e., no)
universal (e.g., each)
nonassertive dual (i.e.,
either)
negative dual (i.e., neither)
wh-determiners (e.g.,
Fonte: Barrie (1971, p. 331)

3. ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS.

Adjectives Adjectives describe or modify nouns or pronouns. A noun is a person, place or

thing, and a pronoun takes the place of a noun. For example, she is a pronoun for Margie.
Typically, an adjective answers how many, what kind, and which one.

For example: Two boys are left in the spelling bee. - Two tells how many boys; boys is the
noun

 Several, some, every, few, many, and a lot are also adjectives that express how many.

 Furthermore, adjectives can describe nouns: Lydia’s blue eyes sparkle like sapphires when
she smiles. - Blue illustrates what color of eyes she has, thus describing the noun eyes. - The

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adjective Blue can also come after the noun it is modifying. For example, Lydia’s eyes are
blue.

 In addition, adjectives demonstrate which one by using the words this, that, these and those.
For instance: This teacher is less demanding than that one. Or, I want to buy these books.

 This, that, these and those also can be used as pronouns, depending on how the word is used
in a sentence. For example: That is my favorite show. And, These are mine.

 Moreover, adjectives modify pronouns: This is hot. Or, He is handsome.

 Adjectives also can be identified by their endings: ous, ful, ish, and able. For example, the
words beautiful, joyous, childish, and adorable are all adjectives.

Adverbs Adverbs describe or modify verbs, other adverbs, and adjectives. Verbs are the
words in the sentence that show action→ run, talk- occurrence→ shines, dims, or existence→
am, is or feel. Most of the time, the adverb will answer these questions: How or in what
manner, when, how often, to what degree, and where? Often, adverbs can be identified by -ly
endings but not always.

 For example: Yousef quietly works on his essay. - Quietly shows in what way Yousef
works; the word quietly modifies the verb works.

 Adverbs also answer When? For instance: Yesterday, I helped the student with his thesis
statement. - The adverb Yesterday tells when the student was helped. - Soon, later, now, first,
later, and after also tell when.

 Words like sometimes, always, usually, seldom, often, and never are adverbs that illustrate
how often. For example: Nathan never brings his homework to class. Or, He always brings his
homework to class. - Frequency can also be shown as adverbs this way: most of the time, in
general, and on occasion.

 Another way adverbs modify verbs is by telling to what degree. Review the following
sentences: Jack deeply loves to play basketball. Or, My husband somewhat wants to watch the
new episode of American Idol. - Other common degree adverbs are not, very, too, slightly,
thoroughly, more, less, almost, and quite.

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 In addition, adverbs tell where in a sentence as with the words here, there, anywhere, ahead,
and away. For example: I will be there in ten minutes. Also, Jessica is going away for the
summer. - In the second example, the adverb away is telling where Jessica is going for the
summer.

3.1. Comparative Degree and Superlative Degree

The comparative degree of an adjective or adverb compares the value of two
things or people. For instance: Reading is more rewarding than watching T.V.
The superlative degree of an adjective or adverb compares the value of three or
more things or people. For example: Of all the girls, Zoe sings the loudest.

To form the comparative and superlative, add –er and –est to adjectives and
adverbs with one syllable. For example:

Comparative –er Superlative –est

Adjectives
 nice→nicer than her  nice→the nicest girl
 old→older brother  old→oldest sibling
 big→bigger dog  big→biggest dog in the yard
Adverbs
 soon→sooner  soon→arrived the soonest
 long→longer  long→jumps the longest
 fast→faster  fast→runs the fastest

Words with two or more syllables use more and most to compare adjectives
and adverbs. For example:
Comparative –more Superlative – (the) most
Adjectives
 more beautiful of the two  the most beautiful poem
 more creative than her  the most creative artist
 more lavish ring than mine  the most lavish gift
Adverbs
 more beautifully  most beautifully written
 more creatively  paints most creatively
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  more lavishly  spends most lavishly

Using some adjectives and adverbs, write a description about your town

When I was in Spain, it was terribly cold.

A thousand homes in the east of Scotland suffered power cuts.

 a city, town, or village

I've been teaching at a college in London.

 a building when you are talking about people or things inside it

They were sitting having dinner in the restaurant

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CONCLUSION

The adjective is used to characterize the noun, attributing qualities to it. It is a variable word
that agrees in gender and number with the noun to which it refers. It may also vary in degree.
EX: “My son is beautiful.” “My daughters are beautiful.”

Adverbs are words that complement the meaning of verbs, adjectives and adverbs.: Place:
serves to complement the meaning of place to which the verb refers; Time: complement of the
meaning of time or period referred to by the verb; Intensity: serves to make the action of the
verb more or less intense.

Prepositions An invariable word, the preposition serves to relate two terms in a statement,
generating meaning between them. Are they:

a – before – after – until – with – against – of – since – in – between – for – per – before – for
– without – under – upon – behind.

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References
Clark, H. (1973). Space, time, semantics and the child. In T. Moore (Ed.). Cognitive
development and the acquisition of language (pp. 28-63). New York: Academic Press.

Lindstromberg, S. (1998). English prepositions explained. Amsterdam: John Benjamin

Publishing Company.

Kenndy, G. (2003). Structure and meaning in English: A guide for teachers. London: Pearson
Education Limited, p. 257.

Endley, M. (2010). Linguistic perspectives on English grammar: A Guide for EFL teachers.
ISBN 978-1-61735-168-6.

Klegr, A. (1987). Whole and determiners. Philologica Pragensia, 30(1),27-35.

Barrie, W. B. (1971). What's in a determiner? Languages Modernes, 65(4), 69- 80.

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