Description
American English Grammar introduces students to American English in detail, from parts of speech, phrases, and clauses to punctuation and explaining (and debunking) numerous "rules of correctness," integrating its discussion of Standard American grammar with thorough coverage of the past sixty years’ worth of work on African American English and other ethnic and regional non-Standard varieties. The book’s examples and exercises include 500 real-world sentences and longer texts, drawn from newspapers, film, song lyrics, and online media as well as from Mark Twain, Stephen King, academic texts, translations of the Bible, poetry, drama, children’s literature, and transcribed conversation and TV and radio shows. Based on twenty years of classroom testing and revision, American English Grammar will serve as a classroom text or reference that teaches students how to think and talk not only about the mechanics of sentences but also about the deep and detailed soul and nuance of the most widely used language in human history.
Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction
Language Variety and Grammar
The Point of the Book
A Summary of the Book
Key Points
A Guide to Non-Standard American Varieties
Acknowledgements
Credits
Abbreviations and Conventions
Introduction Notes
Chapter 1: Sentences; Parts of Speech and Their Phrases
- Sentences: Subjects, Verbs, Verb Complements, and Sentence Modifiers
1.2 Parts of Speech and Their Phrases
Key Points
1.3 Exercises: Sentences
Chapter 1: Notes
Chapter 2: Nouns (N) and Noun Phrases (NP)
2.1 Noun Features
2.2 Noun Phrases
2.3 Noun Phrase Functions
Key Points
2.4 Exercises: Noun Phrases
Chapter 2 Notes
Chapter 3: Prepositions (P) and Prepositional Phrases (PP)
3.1 Prepositions: Form and Function
3.2 Prepositional Phrases: Form and Function
3.3 Prepositions and Language Variation
Key Points
3.4 Exercises: Prepositional Phrases
Chapter 3 Notes
Chapter 4: Adjectives (Adj) and Adjective Phrases (AdjP); Determiners (D) and Determiner Phrases (DP)
4.1 Adjective Forms
4.1.1 Adjective Phrases: Forms and Functions
4.2 Determiners (D) and Determiner Phrases (DP)
4.2.1 Determiner Forms
4.2.2 Determiner Phrases: Forms and Functions
4.3 What makes determiners different from adjectives? And why are number determiners?
Key Points
4.4 Exercises
Chapter 4 Notes
Chapter 5: Pronouns (ProN) and Pronoun Phrases (ProNP)
5.1 Pronoun Forms
5.2 Pronoun Attributes: Case, Number, Person, Gender, Animateness
5.3 Pronoun Functions
5.4 Identifying Pronouns
Key Points
5.5 Exercises: Pronouns
Chapter 5 Notes
Chapter 6: Verbs (V)
6.1 Verb Forms
6.1.1 Tense
6.1.2 Modality, Aspect, and Voice
6.1.2.1 Modality
6.1.2.2 Aspect
6.1.2.3 Voice
6.1.3 Tense, Modality, Aspect, Voice: Putting Them All Together
6.1.4 Imperative Mood
6.1.5 Subjunctive Mood
6.1.6 Auxiliary dó
6.1.7 Generic Past Semi-auxiliary used to
6.1.8 Non-Standard Absent be
6.1.9 How many bes are there?
6.2 Identifying Verbs
Key Points
6.3 Exercises: Verbs: Tense, Mood, Aspect, Voice
Chapter 6 Notes
Chapter 7: Verb Phrases (VP)
7.1 Verb Complements
7.1.1 Verbs with No Complements: Intransitive Verbs
7.1.2 Verbs with One Complement
7.1.2.1 Monotransitive Verbs
7.1.2.2 Intransitive Linking Verbs and Copular be with a Nominal or Adjectival Subject Complement
7.1.2.3 Intransitive Copular be with an Adverbial Subject Complement
7.1.2.4 Intransitive Verbs with an Adverbial Complement
7.1.2.5 Intransitive Quotative Verbs
7.1.3 Verbs with Two Complements
7.1.3.1 Ditransitive Verbs
7.1.3.2 Complex Transitive Verbs with a Direct Object and a Nominal or Adjectival Object Complement
7.1.3.3 Complex Transitive Verbs with a Direct Object and an Adverbial Object Complement
7.1.3.4 Complex Transitive Verbs with a Direct Object and a Participle Phrase
7.1.3.5 Complex Transitive Verbs with Direct Object and Infinitive Phrase
7.1.3.6 Transitive Quotative Verbs
7.1.4 Phrasal Verbs (PV)
7.1.4.1 Intransitive PVs
7.1.4.2 PVs with One Particle and One Complement
7.1.4.2.1 Transitive Separable PVs
7.1.4.2.2 Transitive Inseparable PVs
7.1.4.3 Transitive PV with a Second NP Verb Complement
7.1.4.4 Transitive PV with Two Inseparable Particles
7.1.4.5 Phrasal Verbs with Two Particles and Two Complements
7.1.4.5.1 Transitive PV with Two Separable Particles and a NP:VC
7.1.4.5.2 Transitive PV with Two Inseparable Particles and a NP:VC
7.2 Summary of Verb Complement and Phrasal Verb Patterns
Key Points
7.3 Exercises: Verb Complements and Phrasal Verbs
Chapter 7 Notes
Chapter 8: Adverbs (Adv) and Adverb Phrases (AdvP)
8.1 Adverb Phrases
8.2 Identifying Adverbs
8.3 Negation
Key Points
8.4 Exercises: Adverb Phrases
Chapter 8 Notes
Chapter 9: Conjunctions (Conj)
9.1 Coordinating Conjunctions
9.2 Conjoining Punctuation
9.2.1 Commas
9.2.2 An Aside about Semicolons
9.2.3 An Aside about Dashes, Hyphens, and Parentheses
9.2.4 A Further Aside on Hyphens
9.2.5 Hey: What about Colons?
9.2.6 One More Conjunctive Punctuation Mark You Don’t Think About: Virgules
9.2.7 Summary of Conjoining Punctuation "Rules"
A Brief Discussion of Interjections
Key Points
9.3 Exercises: Conjunctions and Conjoining Punctuation
Chapter 9 Notes
Chapter 10: Clauses
10.1 Independent Clauses—a.k.a. Sentences
10.1.1 Interrogative Sentences
10.1.2 Imperative Mood Sentences
10.1.3 Expletive there
10.1.4 Expletive it
10.1.5 Passive Voice
10.1.6 Inversion
10.2 Dependent Clauses
10.2.1 Adjective Clauses (AdjCl; a.k.a. Relative Clauses)
10.2.1.1 Relative Pro-words
10.2.2 Noun Clauses (NCl)
10.2.3 Adverb Clauses (AdvCl; a.k.a. Subordinate Clauses)
10.2.3.1 Subordinating Conjunctions (SConj)
Key Points
10.3 Exercises: Clauses
Chapter 10 Notes
Chapter 11: Nominals, Adjectivals, and Adverbials
11.1 Nominals
11.2 Adjectivals
11.3 Adverbials
11.3.1 Scope
11.3.2 Subjunct Adverbials
11.3.3 Adjunct Adverbials
11.3.4 Disjunct Adverbials
11.3.5 Conjunctive Adverbials
11.3.6 Sentence Modifiers and Clause Modifiers
Key Points
11.4 Exercises: Nominals, Adjectivals, and Adverbials
Chapter 11 Notes
Chapter 12: Non-Finite Verb Phrases
12.1 Participles (Part) and Participle Phrases (PartP)
12.1.1 Nominal Participle Phrases
12.1.2 Adjectival Participle Phrases
12.1.3 Adverbial Participle Phrases
12.1.4 The Agent of the Participle
12.1.5 PartPs with Auxiliary and Semi-Auxiliary Verbs
12.1.6 PartPs Preceded by a Subordinator
12.2 Infinitives (Inf) and Infinitive Phrases (InfP)
12.2.1 Nominal Infinitive Phrases
12.2.2 Adjectival Infinitive Phrases
12.2.3 Adverbial Infinitive Phrases
12.2.4 The Agent of the Infinitive
12.2.5 InfPs with Auxiliary and Semi-Auxiliary Verbs
12.2.6 InfPs Preceded by a Subordinator
Key Points
12.3 Exercises: Participle and Infinitive Phrases
Chapter 12 Notes
Chapter 13: A Grand Review Exercise
Index
