LANGUAGE FORM AND FUNCTION

This section contains language functions and forms that native English speakers acquire mostly before entering 
school or naturally at home. These language functions and forms, however, need to be explicitly taught to English 
language learners and may be taught to ELLs at all grade levels and as the need and context arise. 

The contrast between form and function in language may be illustrated using a simple biological parallel. If doctors 
studied only the anatomy of the human body (assuming that it could be studied exclusively) they would not be able 
to heal us. To cure us they need to understand the physiology of our bodies, the interrelated functions of systems, 
organs, cells and genes... 

The study of forms or parts of speech used to be called Morphology. It is the Anatomy of a language. (Viking Coe, 
U of Houston, 1994). Forms of a language deal with the internal grammatical structure of words. The relationship 
between “boy” and “boys” and the relationship (irregular) between man and men would be forms of a language. 

The study of functions focuses on the way that parts of speech stand in line or are ordered together in the 
language. It is the Physiology of a language, its Syntax, a derivative of the Greek verb syntassw (to order 
together). A language function refers to the purpose for which the speech or writing is being used.