R. S. Ginzburg, S. S. Khidekel, G. Y. Knyazeva, A. A. Sankin a course in modern english

§ 1. Notional and Form-Words
The frequency distribution singles out two classes, all the words of the language fall into: the so-called notional words, the largest class, having a low frequency of occurrence in comparison with a numerically small group of the so-called form or function words. Form words in terms of absolute figures make a specific group of about 150 units. Notional words constitute the bulk of the existing word-stock; according to the recent counts given for the first 1000 most frequently occurring words they make 93% of the total number. The results of these counts ^l (given below graphically) show the numerical interrelation of the two classes.

The division of vocabulary units into notional and form words is based on the peculiar interrelation of lexical and grammatical types of meaning. In notional words which are used in speech as names of objects of reality, their qualities, names of actions, processes, states the lexical meaning is predominant. In the majority of form words (prepositions, articles, conjunctions), which primarily denote various relations between notional words, it is the grammatical meaning that dominates over their lexical meaning. The difference between notional and form words may be also described in terms of open and closed sets of vocabulary units.²

It should also be noted that though the division of all vocabulary units into notional and form words is valid, in actual speech the borderline between them is not always clear-cut. Comparing the use, e.g., of the verb (to) keep in the word-groups to keep books, to keep a house, to keep secret with to keep warm, to keep talking or the verb (to) turn in to turn one’s head, to turn the toy in one’s fingers with to turn pale

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¹ С. С. Fries. The Structure of English, ch. VI. N. Y., 1952.

² See ‘Semasiology’, § 7, p. 19.

	Notional words	Form words
In the 1st hundred of the most frequently occurring words	66%	34%
In the 2nd hundred of the most frequently occurring words	82%	18%
In the 3rd hundred of the most frequently occurring words	90%	10%
In the 4th hundred of the most frequently occurring words	93%	7%
In the 1st thousand of the most frequently occurring words	93%	7%

we observe that the verbs (to) keep and (to) turn develop meanings peculiar to form words without breaking with the class of notional words.

All notional lexical units are traditionally subdivided into parts of speech, i.e. lexical-grammatical classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs. Nouns numerically make the largest class — about 39%, verbs come second — 25% of all notional words, they are followed by adjectives — 17% and adverbs making 12%, the smallest group of notional words.

The frequency value of words’ show that the form words, though insignificant in terms of absolute figures, constitute the most frequent group of words inseparably bound up with almost all patterns notional words are used in. It is interesting to note that the first ten words in order of frequency are: the, of, and, to, a, in, that, is, was, he. The high frequency value of these 150 function words accounts for the fact that this small group makes up approximately half the lexical items of any English text.

The frequency value of different lexical-grammatical classes of notional words also shows a different distribution as compared with the absolute figures for the same classes, as it is the verbs that prove to be words of highest frequency and greatest potential collocability.