A Short Course in Grammar

by Hopper, Paul J

• ISBN13: 9780393973815
• ISBN10: 0393973816
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-05-17
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Summary

Recognizing that the goal of the grammar course is to improve students'grasp of American English grammar, and not to make students intolinguists, Paul Hopper has written a streamlined, concise textbook. Heavoids getting caught up in details that are interesting to linguistsbut confusing to students, keeping his steady focus on presentingmaterial as briefly and as clearly as possible.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
The English Language: Preliminary Concepts	3	(21)
A World Language	3	(1)
The Historical Background	3	(3)
A Complex Language	6	(4)
Written Language	10	(5)
``Grammar''	15	(2)
Conclusion: Convention and Change	17	(2)
Exercises	19	(5)
Words	24	(14)
Parts of Speech	24	(1)
The Meanings of Categories	24	(1)
The Categories	25	(1)
Nouns and Pronouns	26	(1)
Verbs and Auxiliaries	27	(2)
Adjectives	29	(1)
Adverbs	30	(1)
Prepositions	31	(2)
Determiners	33	(1)
Conjunctions (Subordinators and Coordinators)	34	(1)
Summary	35	(1)
Exercises	36	(2)
Phrases	38	(17)
Phrases	38	(1)
The Notion of ``Phrase'' in Grammar	38	(1)
The Analysis of Declarative Statements	39	(1)
Diagramming: Some Introductory Concepts	40	(2)
Summary	42	(1)
Form-Function Diagrams	43	(4)
The Triangle Convention for Abbreviating a Tree	47	(1)
The Notion of ``Head of a Phrase''	48	(2)
Some Important Terms	50	(1)
Exercises	51	(2)
Appendix: Some Tips on Drawing Form-Function Diagrams	53	(2)
Sentences and Their Parts	55	(11)
Sentence Types	55	(1)
Sentences	55	(1)
The Classification of Sentence Types	55	(7)
Ellipsis	62	(1)
Diagramming Sentences	62	(1)
Exercises	63	(3)
Objects and Adjuncts	66	(26)
Elements of the Predicate	66	(1)
Elements That Precede the Core Sentence	66	(4)
Phrases That Follow the Core Sentence	70	(3)
Objects	73	(9)
A Formal Definition of the Term ``Phrase''	82	(1)
Subject Complements	83	(2)
Sentence Patterns	85	(1)
Exercises	86	(6)
The Verb Phrase	92	(22)
The Verb Phrase	92	(1)
Forms of the Verb	92	(4)
Tense and Aspect	96	(5)
Modality	101	(3)
The Operator	104	(2)
Verb-Auxiliary Homophony	106	(1)
Problematical Verb Forms	106	(1)
Other Aspects and Modalities	107	(3)
Exercises	110	(2)
Appendix: Diagramming the Verb Phrase	112	(2)
Prepositional Phrases and Adverbials	114	(21)
Prepositions and Adverbs	114	(1)
Prepositional Phrases	115	(1)
Forms and Functions of Prepositional Phrases	115	(6)
Prepositions in Phrasal Verbs	121	(5)
Prepositional Verbs	126	(2)
Adverbials inside the Core Sentence	128	(3)
A Survey of Basic Sentence Patterns	131	(1)
Exercises	131	(4)
The Noun Phrase I: Pronouns, Nouns, and Determiners	135	(23)
Noun Phrases	135	(1)
Pronouns	135	(6)
Special Pronouns	141	(2)
Demonstrative Pronouns	143	(1)
The Impersonal Pronoun one	143	(1)
Nouns	144	(6)
Determiners	150	(4)
Exercises	154	(4)
The Noun Phrase II: Modifiers of the Head Noun	158	(18)
Elaborations of the Noun Phrase	158	(1)
Compound Nouns	158	(3)
Possessive Nouns	161	(1)
Adjectival Phrases	162	(8)
Prepositional Phrases as Modifiers	170	(1)
Nominalizations (Infinitives and Gerunds)	171	(2)
Exercises	173	(3)
Negation	176	(9)
Negative Sentences	176	(1)
Negation in the Verb Phrase	176	(3)
Negation Elsewhere in the Sentence	179	(4)
Exercises	183	(2)
The Passive	185	(12)
A Review of the Auxiliaries	185	(1)
The Forms of the Passive	186	(4)
The Agentless Passive	190	(1)
The Passive of the Prepositional Verb	191	(1)
Functions of the Passive in Discourse	192	(2)
Exercises	194	(3)
Coordination	197	(15)
Introduction	197	(1)
The Coordination of Full Sentences	198	(1)
The Coordination of Other Phrases	199	(7)
Disjunction	206	(3)
Exercises	209	(3)
Subordination: Relative Clauses	212	(16)
An Introduction to Complex Sentences	212	(1)
Relative Clauses as Modifiers	213	(2)
The wh-Word Relative Pronouns	215	(1)
Case in the Relative Clause	215	(2)
Relative Clauses Based on Prepositional Complements	217	(4)
Some General Pointers on Diagramming Relative Clauses	221	(1)
Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Relative Clauses	221	(2)
Zero Relative Pronoun	223	(1)
Elliptical Relative Clauses	224	(1)
Other Relative Pronouns	224	(1)
Exercises	225	(3)
Subordination: Noun Clauses I	228	(14)
An Introduction to Noun Clauses	228	(1)
Noun Clauses and Subordinators	229	(4)
Grammatical Functions of the Noun Clause	233	(2)
Noun Clauses as Complements of Prepositions	235	(5)
Exercises	240	(2)
Subordination: Noun Clauses II	242	(14)
Noun Clauses, Part II	242	(1)
Indirect Statements and Indirect Questions	242	(4)
Noun Clauses as Adjectival Complements	246	(1)
Noun Clauses as Subject Complements	247	(1)
Noun Clauses as Appositions	247	(2)
Nonfinite Noun Clauses	249	(4)
Exercises	253	(3)
Subordination: Adverbial Clauses	256	(14)
Pre- and Postcore Clauses	256	(1)
Subordinators in Adverbial Clauses	257	(1)
Adverbial Clauses as Noncore Adverbials	258	(2)
Finite Adverbial Clauses	260	(5)
Nonfinite Adverbial Clauses	265	(2)
Exercises	267	(3)
Grammar and Discourse	270	(13)
Grammar and Discourse	270	(1)
Balancing Information	271	(2)
New and Old Information in the English Sentence	273	(6)
Pre- and Postcore Adverbial Phrases	279	(1)
Conclusion: Grammar as Control and Opportunity	280	(1)
Exercises	280	(3)
Terms and Abbreviations Used in Form-Function Diagrams	283	(2)
Index	285