This market-leading text for advanced grammar courses is a comprehensive description of sentence structure that encourages students to recognize and use their innate language expertise as they study the systematic nature of sentence grammar. A practical blend of the most useful elements of both traditional and new linguistic grammar, the text emphasizes whole structures, most specifically the ten basic sentence patterns introduced in Chapter 2. Two key features separate this book from others: its clear organization and its user-friendly, accessible language. Both students and teachers appreciate the self-teaching quality that incremental exercises provide throughout the chapters, with answers at the end of the book.

Table of Contents:
Contents   Preface     xv   Part I   Introduction     1   Chapter 1   The Study of Grammar: An Overview     3 The English Grammarians     3 Three Definitions of Grammar     5 Modern Linguistics     6 Structural Grammar     6 Transformational Grammar     7 The Issue of Correctness     8 Language Variety     10 Language Change     11 Language in the Classroom     12 Key Terms     13 Further Reading     13 Classroom Applications     14   Part II   The Grammar of Basic Sentences     15   Chapter 2   Sentence Patterns     17 Chapter Preview     17 Words and Phrases: An Overview     18 Nouns     18 Noun Phrases     19 Verbs     20 Verb Phrases     21 Adjectives and Adverbs     21 Prepositional Phrases     23 The Phrase Structure of Sentences     24 The Sentence Slots     26 The Be Patterns     28 The Linking Verb Patterns     32 The Optional Slots     34 The Intransitive Verb Pattern     35 Exceptions to the Intransitive Pattern     36 Intransitive Phrasal Verbs     37 The Transitive Verb Patterns     39 Transitive Phrasal Verbs     40 The Indirect Object Pattern     41 The Object Complement Patterns     44 Compound Structures     47 Exceptions to the Ten Sentence Patterns     48 Imperative Sentences (Commands)     49 Punctuation and the Sentence Patterns     50 Diagramming the Sentence Patterns     50 Notes on the Diagrams     52 The Main Line     52 The Noun Phrase     52 The Verb Phrase     53 The Prepositional Phrase     54 Compound Structures     55 Punctuation     55 Key Terms     55 Sentences for Practice     56 Questions for Discussion     57 Classroom Applications     59   Chapter 3   Expanding the Main Verb     60 Chapter Preview     60 The Five Verb Forms     60 Auxiliary—Verb Combinations     63 The Modal Auxiliaries     67 The Subjunctive Mood     69 Tense and Aspect     70     Using the Verb Forms     71 Exceptions to the Rule     73 The Stand-In Auxiliary Do     73 The Passive Voice     75 Changing Active Voice to Passive     75 Recognizing Passive Voice     77 The Passive Get     79 The Transitive—Passive Relationship     80 Changing Passive Voice to Active      81 Diagramming the Passive     83 The Verb System of African American Vernacular  English     86 Key Terms     87 Sentences for Practice     87 Questions for Discussion     88 Classroom Applications     90   Chapter 4   Transforming the Basic Patterns     92 Chapter Preview     92 Interrogative Sentences     93 Do Support     97 Emphatic Sentences     97 Imperative Sentences     98 Exclamatory Sentences     100 Other Sentence Transformations     101 The There Transformation     101 The Cleft Sentence     105 Key Terms     106 Sentences for Practice     107 Questions for Discussion     107 Classroom Applications     109   Part III   Expanding the Sentence     111 Form and Function     111   Chapter 5   Modifiers of the Verb: Adverbials     114 Chapter Preview     114 Adverbs     116 Prepositional Phrases     118 Nouns and Noun Phrases     121 Verb Phrases     124 Dangling Infinitives     126 Clauses     127 Punctuation of Adverbials     130 Key Terms     132 Sentences for Practice     132 Questions for Discussion     133 Classroom Applications     134   Chapter 6   Modifiers of the Noun: Adjectivals     136 Chapter Preview     136 The Determiner     138 Adjectives and Nouns     139 Prepositional Phrases     144 Relative Clauses     146 Participial Phrases     151 Prenoun Participles     154 Passive Participles     155 The Participle as Object Complement     155 Movable Participles     157 Dangling Participles     158 Participles as Adverbials     160 Punctuation of Clauses and Participles     161 Avoiding Comma Errors     163 Multiple Modifiers     165 Other Postnoun Modifiers     167 Infinitives     167 Noun Phrases     167 Adjectives     168 Adverbs     168 Key Terms     170 Sentences for Practice     171 Questions for Discussion     172 Classroom Applications     174   Chapter 7   The Noun Phrase Functions: Nominals     176 Chapter Preview     176 The Nominal Slots     176 Appositives     177 Punctuation of Appositives     178 Noun Phrase Substitutes     179 Gerunds     179 The Pattern of the Gerund     182 The Subject of the Gerund     184 Dangling Gerunds     185 Infinitives     186 The Subject of the Infinitive     188 Nominal Clauses     190 The Expletive That     191 Interrogatives     193 Yes/No Interrogatives     195 Punctuation of Nominal Clauses     196 Nominals as Delayed Subjects     197 Key Terms     198 Sentences for Practice     198 Questions for Discussion     199 Classroom Applications     201   Chapter 8   Sentence Modifiers     203 Chapter Preview     203 Nouns of Direct Address: The Vocatives     207 Interjections     207 Subordinate Clauses     208 Punctuation of Subordinate Clauses      209 Elliptical Clauses     210 Absolute Phrases     213 Appositives     215 Relative Clauses     216 Key Terms     218 Sentences for Practice     218 Questions for Discussion     219 Classroom Applications     221   Chapter 9   Coordination     223 Chapter Preview     223 Coordination Within the Sentence     223 Punctuation     223 Elliptical Coordinate Structures     225 Subject—Verb Agreement     227 Parallel Structure     228 Coordinating Complete Sentences     229 Conjunctions     229 Semicolons     230 Colons     231 Diagramming the Compound Sentence     232 Key Terms     233 Sentences for Practice     234 Questions for Discussion     235 Classroom Applications     236   Part IV   Words and Word Classes     239   Chapter 10   Morphemes     242 Chapter Preview     242 Bases and Affixes     244 Bound and Free Morphemes     244 Derivational and Inflectional Morphemes     245 Allomorphs     248 Homonyms     249 Compound Words     250 Key Terms     251 Questions for Discussion     251 Classroom Applications     253   Chapter 11   The Form Classes     254 Chapter Preview     254 Nouns     255 Noun Derivational Suffixes     255 Noun Inflectional Suffixes     257 The Meaning of the Possessive Case     259 Irregular Plural Inflections     260 Plural-Only Forms     261 Collective Nouns     261 Semantic Features of Nouns     262 Verbs     264 Verb Derivational Affixes     264 Verb Inflectional Suffixes     265 Adjectives     266 Adjective Derivational Suffixes     267 Adjective Inflectional Suffixes     267 Subclasses of Adjectives     269 Adverbs     271 Adverb Derivational Suffixes     272 Adverb Inflectional Suffixes     273 Key Terms     275 Questions for Discussion     275 Classroom Applications     278   Chapter 12   The Structure Classes     280 Chapter Preview     280 Determiners     280 The Expanded Determiner     284 Auxiliaries     285 Qualifiers     288 Prepositions     290 Simple Prepositions     290 Phrasal Prepositions     292 Conjunctions     293 Coordinating Conjunctions     294 Correlative Conjunctions     294 Conjunctive Adverbs  (Adverbial Conjunctions)     295 Subordinating Conjunctions     296 Relatives     297 Interrogatives     297 Expletives     298 There     298 That     298 Or     299 As     299 If and Whether (or not)     300 Particles     301 Key Terms     301 Questions for Discussion     302 Classroom Applications     303   Chapter 13   Pronouns     305 Chapter Preview     305 Personal Pronouns     306 Case     307 Gender     308 Reflexive Pronouns     311 Intensive Pronouns     313 Reciprocal Pronouns     313 Demonstrative Pronouns     314 Relative Pronouns     315 Interrogative Pronouns     316 Indefinite Pronouns     316 Key Terms     319 Questions for Discussions     319 Classroom Applications     321   Part V   Grammar for Writers     323   Chapter 14   Rhetorical Grammar     325 Chapter Preview     325 Sentence Patterns     326 Basic Sentences     326 The Linking Be and Metaphor     327 Cohesion     327 Sentence Rhythm     329 End Focus     330 Sentence Transformations     332 Choosing Verbs     333 The Overuse of Be     335 The Passive Voice     336 The Abstract Subject     339 The Shifting Adverbials     341 The Adverbial Clause     342 The Adverbs of Emphasis     345 The Common Only     346 Metadiscourse     346 Style     348 Word Order Variation     349 Ellipsis     350 The Coordinate Series     350 The Introductory Appositive Series     351 The Deliberate Sentence Fragment     352 Repetition     353 Using Gender Appropriately     354 Key Terms     359   Chapter 15   Purposeful Punctuation     360 Chapter Preview     360 Making Connections     361 Compounding Sentences     361 Compounding Structures Within Sentences     362 Connecting More Than Two Parts: The Series     362 Separating Prenoun Modifiers     363 Identifying Essential and Nonessential Structures     364 Signaling Sentence Openers     365 Signaling Emphasis     365 Using Apostrophes for Contraction and Possessive Case     366   Part VI   Glossary of Grammatical Terms     369   Answers to the Exercises     385   Index     443