Description
For undergraduate and graduate level courses in English grammar, syntax, and writing; also appropriate for a course in teaching English at the secondary level.
Approaching grammar as a process and not a product, this text engages students in a conversation about English that will help them reflect on how their language works and understand the social judgments that accompany language use—making them feel they are active participants in shaping their language rather than passive victims of grammar rules that someone imposes on them. Employing the terminology of traditional grammar combined with the insights gained by modern linguistic analysis, it describes English as an instrument of communication, and lays the necessary groundwork for thinking about language so that students can extend what they learn to new situations and apply their knowledge of language in ways most useful to them. Three different types of exercises support the learning and review processes and motivate students to think, talk, and write about English with increasing confidence and sophistication as the term progresses.
Table of Contents
PREFACE xiii
Chapter 1 WHY STUDY ENGLISH GRAMMAR? 1
Native Speakers and Grammar Study 1
Standard English 2
Judgments About English 4
The Legacy of the Eighteenth Century 7
Reflections 8
Chapter 2 HOW DO WE STUDY
ENGLISH GRAMMAR? 10
Why Do People Disagree About Grammar? 10
Who Is the Authority? 10
What Role Do Traditional Dictionaries Play? 10
Online Grammar Sources 12
Why Is There No One Standard? 13
Why Do Languages Change? 14
What Are the Common Elements of English? 16
Constituent Structure 16
Rules and Regularities 19
Reflections 20
Chapter 3 NOUNS AND NOUN PHRASES 21
What Are Nouns? 21
What Are Some Common
Subcategories of Nouns? 23
What Makes Up a Noun Phrase? 26
Determiners 27
Predeterminers and Postdeterminers 29
What Are the Functions of Noun Phrases? 30
Subject 30
Direct Object 32
Indirect Object 33
Object of a Preposition 35
Complement 35
Verbal Nouns and Noun Phrases 36
Compounds 38
Reflections 40
Practice Exercises 42
Chapter 4 VERBS AND VERB PHRASES 46
What Are Verbs? 46
What About the Exceptions? 50
What Are Some Common
Subcategories of Verbs? 53
What Is Verb Tense? 57
What Makes Up a Verb Phrase? 63
What Are Nonfinite Verb Phrases? 66
Compounds 66
What Is SubjectVerb Agreement? 67
Reflections 72
Practice Exercises 76
Chapter 5 PRONOUNS 80
What Are Pronouns? 80
Personal Pronouns 81
Reflexive Pronouns 88
Reciprocal Pronouns 91
Demonstrative Pronouns 91
Relative Pronouns 92
Interrogative Pronouns 94
Universal and Indefinite Pronouns 95
Reflections 97
Practice Exercises 99
Chapter 6 ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS 1
03What Are Adjectives? 103
How Do Adjectives Modify Nouns? 106
What Are Adjective Phrases? 108
What Are Adverbs? 109
Is All Well and Good? 112
What Are Adverb Phrases? 115
Reflections 116
Practice Exercises 117
Chapter 7 PREPOSITIONS AND PARTICLES 120
What Are Prepositions? 120
What Are Prepositional Phrases? 121
What Are Particles? 125
Reflections 127
Practice Exercises 128
Chapter 8 NEGATION 131
What Is Negation in Grammar? 131
Verb Negation 131
Negation of Indefinites 133
Noun Negation 135
Adjective and Adverb Negation 136
Negation of Compounds 137
Reflections 139
Practice Exercises 140
Chapter 9 VOICE 144
What Is Grammatical Voice? 144
How Is the Passive Voice Formed? 146
How Are Grammatical Relations
Determined in the Passive Voice? 147
Purchase Info 
With CourseSmart eTextbooks and eResources, you save up to 60% off the price of new print textbooks, and can switch between studying online or offline to suit your needs.
Once you have purchased your eTextbooks and added them to your CourseSmart bookshelf, you can access them anytime, anywhere.
English Grammar: Language as Human Behavior, CourseSmart eTextbook, 3rd Edition
Format: Electronic Book
$48.99 | ISBN-13: 978-0-205-23879-8
Copyright © 2013 Pearson, Inc. All rights reserved.
