[Grammar] Today I begin a new life.

[c3d8]

In the sentence "Today I will begin a new life.", what is the word "Today"? I've discussed this with others, and I've received different answers. One person says that "Today I" is a prepositional phrase, therefore the word "today" is a preposition (To day I). Another person says that it is a determiner that limits the pronoun "I" (limited to today). And yet another says that it qualifies as an adverb because it expresses a relationship of time in the verb phrase "Today I begin".

Personally, I was thinking that the word "Today" was a noun that could be replaced with any given day of the week without changing context. For example,

"Today I begin a new life" could also be "Monday I begin a new life". In this example, the word "Monday" is not a preposition, determiner, or adverb (even though it continues to express a relationship of time), but rather it is a noun. The word "Today" in itself can function as several parts of speech (exactly which parts depends on which dictionary you inquire), but it's most notable as a noun.

Is "Today" a noun in this context, and if so, why is it not a preposition, determiner or a adverb. If I'm wrong, then why not a noun? It appears to me that those who believe the word "Today" in this context to be the part of speech that they thought have provided reasonable evidence to support their belief. I'd appreciate any help.

 

[SoothingDave]

It certainly is not a preposition.

It's an adverb. It modifies "begin" by explaining when the "beginning" will happen.

You really would not say "Monday I begin a new life." It should be "On Monday..." In that case, "Monday" is the object of the preposition "on." The prepositional phrase acts as an adverb to modify "begin."

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello,

You have already received an excellent answer.

I was so interested in your question that I did some research, and I would like to share some information that may interest you.

1. Many, many years ago, the word was spelled as two words: "to day."

a. As your friend told you, it consisted of the preposition "to" plus the noun "day."

i. It meant "on this present day."

b. Then the English people spelled it with a hyphen: "to-day." You can still see this spelling in some older books.

c. Today, of course, everyone spells it as one word.

d. Since "today" means "on this present day," then it is, as SoothingDave told us, an adverb.

e. "I will do it today" or "I will do it on this present day."


James


Source: Dictionary.com

 

[MikeNewYork]

I would say, "Monday, I will begin a new life". In that sentence, "Monday" is an adverb just like "Today".

 

[c3d8]

Thank you all, you have been most helpful.

... I just realized I could "thank" as well as "like" the contributing posts... clever feature.