English grammar - Roger Berry 2012
How to use this book
The Routledge English Language Introductions are ’flexi-texts’ that you can use to suit your own style of study. The books are divided into four sections:
A Introduction - sets out the key concepts for the area of study. The units of this section take you step-by-step through the foundational terms and ideas, carefully providing you with an initial toolkit for your own study. By the end of the section, you will have a good overview of the whole field.
B Development - adds to your knowledge and builds on the key areas already introduced. Units in this section might also draw together several areas of interest. By the end of this section, you will already have a good and fairly detailed grasp of the field, and will be ready to undertake your own exploration and thinking.
C Exploration - provides examples of language data and guides you through your own investigation of the field. The units in this section will be more open-ended and exploratory, and you will be encouraged to try out your ideas and think for yourself, using your newly acquired knowledge.
D Extension - offers you the chance to compare your expertise with key readings in the area. These are taken from the work of important writers, and are provided with guidance and questions for further thought.
You can read this book like a traditional textbook, ’vertically’ straight through each unit from beginning to end. This will take you comprehensively through the broad field of study. However, the Routledge English Language Introductions have been carefully designed so that you can read them in another dimension, ’horizontally’ as a strand across the numbered units. For example, Unit A1 corresponds with B1, C1 and D1 as a coherent strand; A2 with B2, C2 and D2, and so on. Reading across a strand will take you rapidly from the key concepts of a specific area, to a level of expertise in that precise area, all with a very close focus. You can match your way of reading with the way that you work best.
The index of terms at the end, together with the suggestions for further reading, will help keep you orientated. This textbook has a supporting website with an extensive reference section, additional activities, a further reading list and annotated weblinks to online corpora www.routledge.com/cw/berry.
Figures and tables
Figures
A1.3.1 The relationship between different types of grammar 6
A3.1.1 The four parts of a noun phrase 15
A4.1.1 The meaning of comparatives and superlatives 1 23
A4.1.2 The meaning of comparatives and superlatives 2 23
A6.2.1 Analysis of incorrect verb phrase structure 1 36
A6.4.1 Analysis of incorrect verb phrase structure 2 39
A6.4.2 Analysis of incorrect verb phrase structure 3 39
A7.3.1 Interaction of negatives, interrogatives and contractions 44
A9.2.1 The relationship between different types of sentence 55
B5.1.1 Expressing past time in English 100
B7.5.1 Distinguishing prepositional and phrasal verbs 112
B9.6.1 The relationship between form and function 125
C10.1.1 Analysis of a complex sentence 174
C10.1.2 A tree diagram of grammatical structure 175
Tables
A4.1.1 How ’adjectival’ are adjectives? 24
A4.3.1 How ’adjectival’ are adjectives? Suggested answers 28
A5.1.1 Forms of regular and irregular verbs 30
A6.2.1 Verb phrase structure 36
A7.2.1 Common contractions 42
B1.3.1 The word classes of English 79
B2.2.1 The personal pronoun paradigm 83
B2.5.1 The personal pronoun paradigm revised 86
B3.7.1 The difference between the and a with singular count nouns 93
B6.3.1 Modal auxiliaries: intrinsic and extrinsic meanings 107
C4.2.1 Frequencies of phrasal and inflectional comparison 152