A Student's Introduction to English GrammarThis groundbreaking undergraduate textbook on modern Standard English grammar is the first to be based on the revolutionary advances of the authors' previous work, The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (2002). The analyses defended there are outlined here more briefly, in an engagingly accessible and informal style. Errors of the older tradition of English grammar are noted and corrected, and the excesses of prescriptive usage manuals are firmly rebutted in specially highlighted notes that explain what older authorities have called 'incorrect' and show why those authorities are mistaken. This book is intended for students in colleges or universities who have little or no previous background in grammar, and presupposes no linguistics. It contains exercises, and will provide a basis for introductions to grammar and courses on the structure of English not only in linguistics departments but also in English language and literature departments and schools of education. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
A rapid overview | 11 |
Verbs tense aspect and mood | 29 |
Clause structure complements and adjuncts | 63 |
Nouns and noun phrases | 82 |
Adjectives and adverbs | 112 |
Prepositions and preposition phrases | 127 |
Negation and related phenomena | 149 |
Relative clauses | 183 |
Grade and comparison | 195 |
Nonfinite clauses and clauses without verbs | 204 |
Coordination and more | 225 |
Information packaging in the clause | 238 |
Morphology words and lexemes | 264 |
Further reading | 291 |
Glossary | 295 |
Common terms and phrases
adjectives AdjP adjunct adverb anaphorically antecedent auxiliary verb basic canonical clauses clause structure clause type comparative consonant content clauses contrast coordination denote dependent determiner direct object distinction dummy dummy pronoun element exclamative existential clauses expressions extraposition finite following examples functioning as complement fused genitive gerund-participle grammatical head noun illustrated imperative indirect object infinitival inflectional forms interpretation interrogative clause kind lexeme lexical base lexical morphology lexical verbs licensed main clauses marked matrix clause meaning modal auxiliaries modifier morphology negation negative nominative non-canonical non-count non-finite clause normally occur open interrogative passive clause past participle past tense perfect phrase plain form plural position predicand predicative complement preposing preposition preposition stranding present tense properties reference relative clause semantic sentence speakers speech Standard English subject-auxiliary inversion subordinate clause suffix superlative syntactic tense forms term tion tive underlined ungrammatical verb-form viii vowel words