The function and use of TO and OF in multi-word units
By: Michael Pace-Sigge, University of Eastern Finland
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Houndmills, Baskingstoke, Hampshire; New York, NY
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9781137470300
Subjects: Comparative and general Grammar; Prepositions; LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Grammar & Punctuation; Functional discourse grammar; LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / Morphology; LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / Historical & Comparative; Syntax
Description: "The highly frequent word items TO and OF are often conceived merely as prepositions, carrying little meaning in themselves. This book disputes that notion by analysing the usage patterns found for OF and TO in different sets of  text corpora. Looking at historical roots and earlier corpus linguistic research, this study demonstrates that both OF and TO have clear semantic and pragmatic functions. The book analyses corpora from three types of text: spoken, semi-prepared spoken such as speeches, and written fiction to explore how the two words are used in English overall and what genre-specific characteristics stand out"--
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note:; title: 1. Introduction; title: 2. The Background; title: 3. OF and TO Usage in Fiction.; title: 4. OF and TO in Semi-prepared Speech; title: 5. Usage in Spoken Texts; title: 6. Usage patterns for OF and TO in British English; title: 7. Implications for the Teaching of English; title: 8. Conclusion.