Here's why English is considered analytic:
* Fixed word order: English has a relatively fixed word order, typically subject-verb-object (SVO). This helps to determine the grammatical function of words. For example, "The cat chased the mouse" clearly indicates that the cat is the subject and the mouse is the object because of their position in the sentence.
* Limited inflections: English has relatively few inflections compared to many other languages. For example, we only have three verb tenses (present, past, and future), and the plural form of nouns is typically formed by adding "-s".
While English is primarily analytic, it does have some features of an inflectional language:
* Pronoun case: English pronouns have different forms depending on their grammatical function. For example, "I" is used as the subject, while "me" is used as the object.
* Irregular verbs: Some English verbs have irregular forms, which require memorization rather than following a predictable rule. For example, "go" becomes "went" in the past tense.
In conclusion, while English primarily relies on word order for grammatical relationships, it does have some inflectional features. It is considered more analytic than inflectional overall.