ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the event-related potentials (ERPs) waves of verbs and prepositions in the brain.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We recorded ERPs in the brain while participants judged the legality of the collocation for verbs and prepositions.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Both verbs and prepositions elicited a negativity at the frontal site in 230-330 ms and 350-500 ms window. No difference was seen in 230-330 ms and 350-500 ms window; In difference waves, a negativity was elicited in the left and right hemisphere at about 270-400 ms and 470-600 ms window for both open and closed-class words.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>These may demonstrate that prepositions in modern Chinese are probably not a separate class from verbs and that N280 may be not a specific component for only prepositions (or closed-class words).</p>