Oxford Modern English Grammar

by Aarts, Bas

• ISBN13: 9780199533190
• ISBN10: 0199533199
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-05-22
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Written by Bas Aarts, one of Britain's leading grammatologists, Oxford Modern English Grammar is a brand new and definitive guide to grammar usage. This indispensable handbook covers both British and American English, and makes use of authentic spoken and written examples. Packed with tables, diagrams, and numerous example sentences, and assuming no prior knowledge of grammatical concepts on the part of the reader, this volume offers an unmatched guide to the structure of contemporary English. Arranged in three clear parts for ease of use, the Grammar's comprehensive coverage ranges from the very basic--such as word structure, simple and complex phrases, and clause types--to the more sophisticated topics that lie at the intersection of grammar and meaning, including tense and aspect, mood and modality, and information structuring. How do words formed by "compounding" differ from words formed by "conversion"? How many verbs in English can take a declarative clause functioning as direct object (ie, "decide that..." or "believe that...")? What is the relationship between a matrix clause and a subordinate clause? What is the present futurate tense? The past futurate? The continuative present perfect? How does the grammar of English encode such semantic notions as "possibility," "probability," "necessity," "obligation," "permission," "intention," or "ability"? Aarts answers all these questions, clearly and engagingly, deeply enriching the reader's understanding of the English language. Oxford Modern English Grammar will be invaluable for those with an interest in the English language, undergraduate students of all disciplines, and for anyone who would like a clear guide to English grammar and how to use it.

Author Biography

Bas Aarts is Professor of English Linguistics at University College London and Director of the Survey of English Usage. His other publications include Syntactic Gradience (2007), Handbook of English Linguistics (2006), Fuzzy Grammar (2004), Exploring Natural Language (2004) , and English Syntax and Argumentation (1997).

Table of Contents

Part I: The basics
1. An overview of English grammar

Part II: Form and function
2. Word structure and word formation
3. Word classes and simple phrases
4. Grammatical functions, semantic roles, and tree diagrams

Part III: Phrase and clause patterns
5. Complex phrases and coordination
6. Clause types and negation
7. Finite subordinate clauses
8. Non-finite and verbless subordinate clauses

Part IV: Grammar and meaning
9. Tense and aspect
10. Mood
11. Information structuring

Appendix 1: English irregular verbs

Appendix 2: The structure of the ICE-GB corpus

Notes and further reading

References

Index
Part I: The basics
1. A bird's eye veiw of grammar
2. Word structure
3. Word classes and simple phrases
4. Grammatical functions and semantic roles
Part II: Phrase and clause patterns
5. The form-function interface
6. Complex Phrases
7. Clause types
Part III: Grammar and meaning
8. Subordinate clauses
9. Time and tense
10. Aspectuality and aspect
11. Modality and mood
12. Information structuring
Appendix 1
Suffixes
Appendix 2
Prefixes
Appendix 3
Irregular verbs
Appendix 4
Phrasal verbs
Appendix 5
Prepositional verbs
Further reading
Bibliography