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MASTERY OF ENGLISH PREPOSITIONS AND DISCOURSE MARKERS
Earlier this February, the Forum presented an intensive six-part review of the three major types of grammar connectives—the coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, and conjunctive adverbs. To complete this review, we will now proceed to the prepositions as the fourth type of functional connective and finally to the use of discourse markers.
Fanboys and Conjunctions


Some prepositions work very much like conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs—but with a major structural difference. A preposition typically establishes a relationship between ideas within the same clause; a conjunction or conjunctive adverb typically establishes a relationship between clauses or across sentences and paragraphs. Some prepositions can also function as conjunctions and adverbs—sometimes even as adjectives.
Adverbs
On the other hand, what distinguishes discourse markers from the typical propositions is that while the former also carry grammatical meaning and signal relations between parts of sentences or clauses, discourse markers are relatively not dependent on the syntax of the sentence and usually don’t alter the truth of what’s being said.

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Do you have any question about the English language—its vocabulary, its grammar and usage, its construction and structure, or its idioms and other peculiarities? Or do you have the knowledge or expertise—and, of course, the time—to help English-language learners seeking to understand and navigate these aspects of the language better?

Or maybe you happen to be just a concerned English user disturbed by the misuse of English—whether subtle or blatant—in the publications or books that you read or by the people whom you deal with, or perhaps dismayed by how badly English is spoken in a TV or radio program or some other public platform?

If so, then Jose Carillo’s English Forum is the perfect place for you. Here, freely and at any time of the day, you can:

Here, for starters, are some sample questions that will be most welcome in this Forum:

  1. Is “not unless” a redundant phrase?
  2. Is the phrase “most often than not” correct usage?
  3. Which is correct, “on behalf” or “in behalf”?
  4. When do you use “would” and when do you use “will”?
  5. Do you say “Best wishes!” to an ailing person?

If you want to know the answers to these questions now, Click here.

This Forum will be focusing exclusively on English and its usage, and aims to be a vibrant venue for healthy and civilized discussions, not angry or violent ones. In the process it hopes to generate clarity and light, not semantic heat and verbal pyrotechnics, over English. It will therefore give no room to unbridled rants—whether pro or con—on any issue about English and its uses.

The English this Forum will be using, by the way, is the American standar, but the Forum won’t be averse to questions or explanations about how American English differs from British English or from other English standards or variants.

So, if everything’s clear to you now on what this website is all about, simply click on to see what Jose Carillo’s English Forum has to offer for you. Good luck in your continuing quest for better English!

Joe Carillo




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