Designed primarily for native speakers, the book encourages students to view English as an evolving system of
grammar rules. It encourages curiosity about how others use English and emphasizes the idea that there may be competing
descriptions of language structure and varying opinions about correctness. The book will help students to think,
talk, and write about grammar with increasing confidence and sophistication.
Combines traditional grammatical terminology and the insights of modern linguistic analysis.
Features
Written in an informal, conversational style.
Encourages students to participate in a conversation about their language and to observe it in action.
Includes a final chapter on word-construction, pronunciation, and spelling to demonstrate how English functions
as an organic whole with interrelated parts.
Includes a glossary of terms with chapter references to allow for quick review and later use as a reference
book.
Includes several important pedagogical aids, including:
Group Discussion Exercises
Practice Exercises with Answers
Reflections, which are a series of open-ended questions.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Why Study English Grammar?
Native Speakers and Grammar Study.
Standard English.
Judgments about English.
The Legacy of the Eighteenth Century.
Reflections.
Notes.
Chapter 2. How Do We Study English Grammar?
Why Do People Disagree about Grammar?
What are the Common Elements of English?
Reflections.
Notes.
Chapter 3. Nouns and Noun Phrases
What are Nouns?
What are Some Common Subcategories of Nouns?
What Makes Up a Noun Phrase?
What are the Functions of Noun Phrases?
Verbal Nouns and Noun Phrases.
Reflections.
Practice Exercises.
Chapter 4. Verbs and Verb Phrases
What Are Verbs?
What about the Exceptions?
What Are Some Common Subcategories of Verbs?
What Is Verb Tense?
What Makes Up a Verb Phrase?
What are Nonfinite Verb Phrases?
What Is Subject-Verb Agreement? Reflections.
Practice Exercises.
Chapter 5. Pronouns
What are Pronouns?
Personal Pronouns.
Reflexive Pronouns.
Reciprocal Pronouns.
Demonstrative Pronouns.
Relative Pronouns.
Interrogative Pronouns.
Universal and Indefinite Pronouns.
Reflections.
Practice Exercises.
Chapter 6. Adjectives and Adverbs
What Are Adjectives?
How Do Adjectives Modify Nouns?
What Are Adjective Phrases?
What Are Adverbs?
Is All Well and Good?
What Are Adverb Phrases?
Reflections.
Practice Exercises.
Chapter 7. Prepositions and Particles
What are Prepositions?
What are Prepositional Phrases?
What are Particles?
Reflections.
Practice Exercises.
Chapter 8. Language Users at Work: Multiple Meanings and New Constituents
Crossover Functions of Words: When Is a Noun Not a Noun?
Ambiguity: When Can a Sentence Mean More Than One Thing?
Creating New Constituents: How Do We Build New Structure?
Clause Coordination and Ellipsis: Adding and Subtracting for Efficiency.
Reflections.
Practice Exercises.
Chapter 9. Clause Type: Voice
What Is Grammatical Voice?
How Is the Passive Voice Formed?
How Are Grammatical Relations Determined in the Passive Voice?
Why Do We Need The Passive Voice?
What Is a Truncated Passive?
The Passive and Structural Ambiguity.
Reflections.
Practice Exercises.
Chapter 10. Clause Type: Discourse Function
What Is Discourse Function?
Crossover Functions of Clause Types.
Reflections.
Practice Exercises.
Chapter 11. Clause Type: Affirmative Versus Negative
What Is Negativity in Grammar?
Verb Negation. Negation of Indefinites.
Noun Negation.
Adjective and Adverb Negation.
Negation of Compounds.
Partial Negation.
Reflections.
Practice Exercises.
Chapter 12. Combining Clauses into Sentences
How is a Sentence Different from a Clause?
Sentence Building through Coordination.
Sentence Building through Subordination.
Adverbial Clauses.
Noun Clauses.
Relative Clauses.
Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Relative Clauses.
Reduced Relative Clauses.
Reflections.
Practice Exercises.
Chapter 14. Word Construction, Pronunciation, and Spelling
How Are Words Constructed?
What Is Phonology?
What Is Phonetics?
Some Rules of English Morphology.
Variations in Pronunciation.
Standard English and Spelling.
Should We Reform Our Spelling System?
Reflections.
Practice Exercises.
