Essentials of mastering English : a concise grammar / by Carl Bache.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bache, Carl, 1953-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English language--Grammar.

English language.

Physical Description:

xii, 328 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Berlin ; New York : Mouton de Gruyter, 2000.

Contents:

1. Grammatical description: getting started 1

1.1. Grammar: syntax, morphology and semantics 1

1.2. The form and function distinction 2

1.3. Sentence functions introduced 3

1.4. Four form types 4

1.5. Word classes 5

1.6. Discontinuity 7

1.7. Basic sentence structures 8

1.8. More sentence functions and structures 10

1.9. Summary of sentence functions and structures 11

2. Sentence functions 11

2.1. The predicator 11

2.2. The subject 15

2.3. The direct object 19

2.4. The indirect object 21

2.5. The subject complement 23

2.6. The object complement 25

2.7. Adverbials 26

2.8. Predicates and predications 29

3. Complex forms 30

3.1. Groups 30

3.2. Types of subordination in groups 32

3.3. The preposition group 34

3.4. The compound unit 36

3.5. Types of coordination 37

3.6. Coordinating conjunctions 39

3.7. Clauses 40

3.8. The functions of subclauses 41

3.9. Markers of clausal subordination 42

3.10. Embedding and recursiveness 43

4. Clause types and utterance functions 44

4.1. Major types of clause 44

4.2. Communicative functions 45

4.3. The forms of communicative functions 46

5. Missing constituents, ellipsis and pro-forms 48

5.1. The zero convention 48

5.2. Types of ellipsis 49

5.3. Pro-forms 51

6. Vocatives, interjections and dislocation 52

7. Constituent Order 55

7.1. Functions of constituent order 56

7.2. Inversion 58

7.2.1. Subject-operator inversion 59

7.2.2. Full inversion 62

7.3. Constituent order in subclauses 64

7.4. Position and order of adverbials 65

7.4.1. Initial position 65

7.4.2. Medial position 66

7.4.3. Terminal position 67

7.4.4. Positions in nonfinite clauses 67

7.4.5. Factors governing the distribution of adverbials 68

7.4.6. Relative position of adverbials 71

8. Situations and participants 73

8.1. Actionality: dynamic versus stative situations 73

8.2. Subtypes of dynamic situations 74

8.3. Subtypes of stative situations 75

8.4. General participant roles 77

8.5. Specific participant roles 77

8.6. A few points in connection with participant roles 79

9. Voice: active versus passive 81

9.1. Functions of the passive 82

9.2. Voice restrictions 84

9.3. Nonfinite passives 85

9.4. GET-passives 85

9.5. Notional 'passives' 86

9.6. Passives versus adjectival non-passives 87

10. Polarity 88

10.1. Standard negation and rules of contraction 88

10.2. Domain of negation: global versus local 89

10.3. Syntactic field of negation: clausal versus limited 90

10.4. Semantic scope of negation: complete versus incomplete 92

10.6. Polarity in non-declarative sentences 95

11. Subject-predicator concord 96

11.1. The basic rule 96

11.2. Singular or plural subject realization? 97

11.3. Notional concord 100

11.4. Attraction 103

12. The complex sentence 103

12.1. Definition and classifications 103

12.2. Additional points 105

12.3. Clausal complementation 106

12.4. Discontinuous subject clauses 108

12.5. The subject function in subclauses 109

12.6. Conditional clauses 111

12.7. Clausally realized disjuncts 112

12.8. Transferred negation 114

12.9. Cleft sentences 115

13. Verbals 117

13.1.1. Verb forms 117

13.1.2. Semi-auxiliaries 118

13.1.3. The external relations of verbals 120

13.1.4. The internal structure of verbals 120

13.2. Complex predicators 122

13.2.1. Phrasal verbs 122

13.2.2. Prepositional verbs 123

13.2.3. Phrasal-prepositional verbs 124

13.2.4. Other complex predicators 125

13.3. Tense and aspect 125

13.3.2. Deictic forms: present and past 127

13.3.3. Future forms 129

13.3.4. Perfect forms 130

13.3.5. Future perfect forms 132

13.3.6. Progressive forms: introduction 132

13.3.7. Present and past progressive forms 136

13.3.8. Future progressive forms 137

13.3.9. Perfect and future perfect progressive forms 138

13.3.10. Tense-aspect in indirect speech 138

13.3.11. Tense-aspect in narration 140

13.3.12. Modal uses of past tense-aspect forms 142

13.3.13. Modal uses of WILL 143

13.4. Mood 144

13.4.1. The imperative 145

13.4.2. The subjunctive 146

13.5. Modality 148

13.5.2. MAY/MIGHT 149

13.5.3. CAN/COULD 151

13.5.4. MUST 153

13.5.5. SHALL/SHOULD 155

14. Nominals 157

14.1.1. The external relations of nominals 157

14.1.2. The internal structure of noun groups 157

14.1.3. The functional structure of nominals 159

14.2. Categorization 162

14.2.1. What's in a head? 162

14.2.2. Gender 164

14.2.3. Types of nouns and referents 166

14.2.4. Countability 167

14.3. Determination 170

14.3.1. Types of determiner 170

14.3.2. Co-occurring determiners: pre-and postdeterminers 170

14.3.3. Determiners and quantifiers 172

14.3.4. Referential orientation 173

14.3.5. The definite article 175

14.3.6. The indefinite article 178

14.3.7. Zero determination 181

14.3.8. The genitive 185

14.4. Quantification: the number category 190

14.4.1. The formal singular/plural distinction 190

14.4.2. What is pluralized? 193

14.4.3. The uses of the singular and the plural 193

15. Pronominals 195

15.1.1. Classification of pronouns 195

15.1.2. The external relations of pronominals 196

15.1.3. The communicative function of pronominals 197

15.2. Central pronouns 198

15.2.1. Personal pronouns 198

15.2.2. Possessive pronouns 203

15.2.3. Reflexive pronouns 205

15.3. Pronouns without a person distinction 208

15.3.1. Demonstrative pronouns 208

15.3.2. Interrogative pronouns 212

15.3.3. Relative pronouns 215

15.3.4. Indefinite pronouns 221

16. Adjectivals and adverbals 229

16.1. Preliminary discussion of adjectivals 229

16.1.1. Adjectives and adjective groups 229

16.1.2. Semantics 230

16.1.3. Morphology 231

16.1.4. The external relations of adjectivals 232

16.1.5. Parataxis and hypotaxis 234

16.1.6. Descriptive, classifying and specifying adjectives 235

16.1.7. Positional restrictions 236

16.2. Adjectival modification and positional ordering 238

16.2.1. Modificational zones 238

16.2.2. Structure in and across Mod. zones 240

16.2.3. Zone-internal order 241

16.3. Comparison of adjectives 244

16.3.1. The basic system of comparison 244

16.3.2. Irregular comparison 245

16.3.3. The choice between morphological and syntactic comparison 246

16.3.4. The use of compared forms 248

16.4. The substantival use of adjectives 250

16.4.1. What is meant by 'substantival use'? 250

16.4.2. Generic and specific reference 251

16.5. Adverbals 252

16.5.1. Preliminaries 252

16.5.2. The external relations of adverbals 254

16.5.3. Morphology 254

16.5.4. VERY versus MUCH 256

16.5.5. Comparison 257

Appendix Tips on pronunciation and spelling 259

A.1. Verbs 259

A.2. Nouns 260

A.2.1. The regular singular/plural distinction 260

A.2.2. Irregular plurals 261

A.3. Adjectives: comparison 263

A.4. Adverbs 264.

Notes:

Includes indexes.

ISBN:

3110167220

OCLC:

42810880