In the question "Where are the spoons?", what is "where"?
adverb? preposition?
please explain why
In that sentence, "Where" is an interrogative and an adverb.
http://www.answers.com/topic/where
It is a relative adverb. .Whether a "wh-word" functions as a relative pronoun or a relative adverb is determined by its function in the subordinated relative clause.
In the question "Where are the spoons?", the word "where" is used as an adverb. An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb and provides information about place, time, manner, or degree. In this case, "where" is modifying the verb "are" and providing information about the place or location of the spoons.
To determine the grammatical function of a word, it's important to consider its role in the sentence. In this example, "where" is not indicating a relationship between two noun phrases (as a preposition would), but rather it is modifying the verb "are." Additionally, "where" is asking for information about the location of the spoons, which aligns with the adverb's function of providing information about place.
To get a better understanding of the function of words in a sentence, you can analyze their roles based on their meanings, their position in the sentence, and their relationship to other words. In the case of "where," considering its meaning as a word that provides information about place and its use in modifying the verb "are" helps identify it as an adverb in the given question.