English Grammar (language Workbooks)

ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN THE SAME SERIES Editor: Richard Hudson Patricia Ashby Speech Sounds Laurie Bauer Vocabulary Edward Carney English Spelling Jonathan Culpeper History of English Nigel Fabb Sentence Structure John Haynes Style Richard Hudson Word Meaning Jean Stilwell Peccei Child Language Raphael Salkie Text and Discourse Analysis R.L.Trask Language Change Peter Trudgill Dialects ENGLISH GRAMMAR Richard Hudson London and New York First published 1998 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003. Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1998 Richard Hudson All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Hudson, Richard A. English grammar/Richard Hudson. p. cm.—(Language workbooks) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-415-17410-4 (pb) 1. English language—Grammar—Problems, exercises, etc. I. Title. II. Series. PE1112.H817 1998 428.2–dc21 97–34088 CIP ISBN 0-203-01546-0 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-20522-7 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-17410-4 (Print Edition) This book is dedicated to my father, John Hudson, who uses English grammar better than I shall ever be able to. CONTENTS Using this book Acknowledgements Overview 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Word-classes: nouns and verbs Noun expansions: heads, dependents and adjectives Linking words: prepositions and coordinators Subclassification: pronouns, determiners and other nouns Verb expansions: subjects, objects, ‘sharers’ and adverbs Verb chains: auxiliary and full verbs and finiteness Fancy verb chains: to, that, not and clauses Subordinate clause clues: wh-pronouns, prepositions and non-infinite verbs (again) Subordinate clause uses Sentences and information: it, there, apposition and punctuation Appendix I: Model analysis of a 100-word text Appendix II: Approaches to grammar Model answers References and further reading Index ix xi 1 5 14 23 32 41 51 61 69 77 86 94 96 100 125 127 USING THIS BOOK If you can understand this sentence, you already know English grammar. You know all the words intimately; for example, you’ve probably heard or read the word if many thousands of times during your life, and don’t need me to tell you how to use it. What, then, is the point of a book (in English) on English grammar? In a nutshell, to help you to understand all these things that you already know. Understanding is at the heart of the book. I don’t think it will be possible to use the book—however hard you may try!—without grasping some of the principles and patterns of grammar. I’ve tried hard not to tell you anything; instead, my role is your guide and interpreter on a journey through the important part of your mind which we call your grammar. I will direct your attention to specific patterns and ask you questions, but it’s you that provides the answers and in the process of answering your understanding deepens and broadens. I promise that it will work for