English: An Essential Grammar (3rd Edition)

__English: An Essential Grammar__ is written specifically for native speakers, beginning with the basics and going on to deal with phrase, clause and sentence structure, word formation and spelling. This fully revised third edition features new material on: * the structure of phrases and clauses * light verbs * nominal adjectives * the Operator * preposition __to__ and infinitival __to__ * the four __that__s * determiners, prepositions, and common errors With new exercises and answers for all new sections, this __Essential Grammar__ continues to be the ideal reference for anyone who would like to improve their knowledge of English grammar. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 List of abbreviations 11 Introduction 13 What is grammar? 13 Grammar ‘rules’ and grammatical structures 13 Standard English 15 English as a world language 16 British English and American English 17 How this book is organised 19 A note on sources 19 Chapter 1 Introducing sentence structure 20 1.1 The constituents of a sentence 20 1.2 The Grammatical Hierarchy 21 1.3 Form and function in grammatical description 23 1.4 Subject and verb 24 1.5 Identifying the Subject 25 1.5.1 The Inversion Test 25 1.5.2 The Tag Question Test 26 1.5.3 Subject-verb agreement 27 1.6 Verb types and sentence patterns 28 1.6.1 Intransitive verbs 28 1.6.2 Linking verbs and Subject Complements 29 1.6.3 Monotransitive verbs and Direct Objects 29 1.6.4 Ditransitive verbs and Indirect Objects 30 1.6.5 Complex transitive verbs and Object Complements 32 1.6.6 Adverbial Complements 33 1.6.7 Summary: the six sentence patterns 34 1.7 Active sentences and passive sentences 36 1.8 Adjuncts 37 1.8.1 The meanings of Adjuncts 39 1.9 Peripheral constituents in sentence structure 40 1.10 Fragments and non-sentences 41 Exercises for Chapter 1 43 Chapter 2 Words and word classes 47 2.1 Open and closed word classes 47 2.2 Nouns and determiners 48 2.2.1 Singular nouns and plural nouns 48 2.2.2 Common nouns and proper nouns 49 2.2.3 Countable nouns and uncountable nouns 50 2.2.4 Genitive nouns 51 2.2.5 Dependent genitives and independent genitives 52 2.2.6 Determiners 53 2.3 Pronouns 55 2.3.1 Personal pronouns 56 2.3.2 Possessive pronouns 56 2.3.3 Reflexive pronouns 57 2.3.4 Demonstrative pronouns 58 2.3.5 Quantifying pronouns and numerals 59 2.3.6 Relative pronouns 62 2.3.7 Nominal relative pronouns 63 2.3.8 Interrogative pronouns 64 2.3.9 Pronoun one 64 2.3.10 Pronoun it 65 2.4 Main verbs 66 2.4.1 The five verb forms 67 2.4.2 The base form 67 2.4.3 The -s form 68 2.4.4 The past form 68 2.4.5 The -ed/-en form 69 2.4.6 The -ing form 69 2.4.7 Irregular verbs 70 2.4.8 Regular and irregular variants 71 2.4.9 The verb be 72 2.4.10 Multi-word verbs 73 2.4.11 Light verbs 73 2.5 Auxiliary verbs 74 2.5.1 Modal auxiliary verbs 75 2.5.2 The meanings of modal auxiliaries 76 2.5.3 The passive auxiliary be 77 2.5.4 The progressive auxiliary be 78 2.5.5 The perfective auxiliary have 78 2.5.6 Auxiliary do 78 2.5.7 Semi-auxiliary verbs 79 2.6 Adjectives 79 2.6.1 Gradable adjectives 81 2.6.2 Comparative adjectives and superlative adjectives 81 2.6.3 Participial adjectives 82 2.6.4 Nominal adjectives 83 2.7 Adverbs 84 2.7.1 Circumstantial adverbs 84 2.7.2 Degree adverbs 86 2.7.3 Comparative adverbs and superlative adverbs 87 2.8 Prepositions 88 2.9 Conjunctions 91 Exercises for Chapter 2 92 Chapter 3 Phrases 97 3.1 What is a phrase? 97 3.2 The basic structure of phrases 98 3.3 Adverb phrases 100 3.3.1 The functions of adverb phrases 102 3.4 Adjective phrases 103 3.4.1 Comparative constructions 105 3.4.2 The functions of adjective phrases 106 3.5 Prepositional phrases 107 3.5.1 The functions of prepositional phrases 109 3.6 Noun phrases 110 3.6.1 Noun phrase Heads 111 3.6.1.1 Identifying the Head 112 3.6.2 Determiners and Determinatives 116 3.6.3 Noun phrase Premodifiers 121 3.6.4 Noun phrase Postmodifiers 124 3.6.4.1 Sequential and embedded Postmodifiers 126 3.6.4.2 Postmodifiers and Complements 128 3.6.5 The functions of noun phrases 129 3.6.6 Apposition 131 3.7 Verb phrases 131 3.7.1 The Operator 133 3.7.2 The ordering of auxiliary verbs 136 3.7.3 Finite verb phrases and non-finite verb phrases 138 3.7.4 Movement 139 3.7.5 Tense 140 3.7.6 Expressing future time 141 3.7.7 Aspect 142 3.7.8 Mood 143 Exercises for Chapter 3 146 Chapter 4 Clauses and sentences 151 4.1 What is a clause? 151 4.2 Subordination 154 4.2.1 Finite and non-finite subordinate clauses 154 4.2.2 Adjunct clauses 155 4.2.2.1 The meanings of Adjunct clauses 156 4.2.3 Relative clauses 157 4.2.4 Nominal relative clauses 159 4.2.5 That-clauses 160 4.2.6 Comparative clauses 161 4.2.7 The functions of clauses in sentences 162 4.2.8 The functions of clauses in phrases 163 4.3 Coordination 164 4.3.1 Coordination types 166 4.3.2 The meanings of Coordinators 167 4.3.3 Correlative Coordinators 168 4.3.4 Quasi-coordination 170 4.4 Sentence types 171 4.4.1 Declarative sentences 171 4.4.2 Interrogative sentences 172 4.4.3 Imperative sentences 176 4.4.4 Exclamative sentences 176 4.5 Positive sentences and negative sentences 177 4.6 Inverted sentences 180 4.7 Extraposition and postponement 180 4.8 There-sentences 184 4.9 Cleft sentences 185 4.10 Sentence connectors 186 4.10.1 Logical connectors 186 4.10.2 Structural connectors 187 4.11 Referring expressions 189 Exercises for Chapter 4 191 Chapter 5 Word formation and spelling 195 5.1 The structure of words 195 5.2 Prefixes 195 5.3 Suffixes 196 5.4 Compounding and blending 197 5.5 Acronyms, abbreviations, and clipping 199 5.6 Back formations 201 5.7 Combining forms 201 5.8 Inflections 202 5.9 Adding inflections: general spelling rules 203 5.10 Adding -ly and -ally 205 5.11 Plural nouns 206 5.12 Variants with s or z 207 5.13 British and American spelling variants 208 5.14 Problem spellings 209 Exercises for Chapter 5 212 Answers to exercises 214 Appendix: English irregular verbs 237 Glossary of terms 243 Further reading 259 Index 261 English: An Essential Grammar is written specifically for native speakers, beginning with the basics and going on to deal with phrase, clause and sentence structure, word formation and spelling. This fully revised third edition features new material on: the structure of phrases and clauses light verbs nominal adjectives the Operator preposition to and infinitival to the four that s determiners, prepositions, and common errors With new exercises and answers for all new sections, this Essential Grammar continues to be the ideal reference for anyone who would like to improve their knowledge of English grammar. English: An Essential Grammar is written specifically for native speakers, beginning with the basics and going on to deal with phrase, clause and sentence structure, word formation and spelling. This fully revised and updated third edition includes new exercises and answers for all new sections.