When it comes to form vs. function, I teach the linguistic definitions for the various parts of speech (that is, dependent on whether or not a word takes certain suffixes or can appear in certain phrase slots). I teach phrases and sentences as consisting of function slots into which various categories of word, phrase, and clause can be "plugged." I draw boxes with various slot roles, such as "head" and "modifier" for phrases, and "subject", "predicate", "direct object," etc. for predicate- and sentence-level slots. Thus, a word, phrase, or clause can be plugged into the "subject" slot; many items, from nouns to prepositional phrases to clauses, can be plugged into the "adverbial" slot. A book manuscript I have with such boxes is praised by students for being, in general, accessible and clear in its explanations.
I teach at the college level (but mostly to students who have had little to no grammar instruction), and this seems to work for most students. I would guess that it might work for well-prepared students from middle school on, but it is hard for me to judge. My friend in seventh grade is doing math I did in 11th grade ... she goes to an affluent school, though.
An obstacle for many students is the conflation of form and function that takes place in earlier grades. Even those who have had minimal grammar usually remember the rote definitions for noun, verb, and adjective, and many think that anything that modifies a noun is an adjective. This makes it harder for them to adjust to a new (but more accurate) system of definitions later.
Dr. Johanna Rubba, Ph. D.
Associate Professor, Linguistics
Linguistics Minor Advisor
English Dept.
Cal Poly State University San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
Ofc. tel. : 805-756-2184
Dept. tel.: 805-756-2596
Dept. fax: 805-756-6374
URL: cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba
To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
and select "Join or leave the list"