Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
How can we go about describing the structure of sentences? What do we learn from analysing language in this way? This book examines the nuts and bolts of English syntax in an accessible way.
The book starts with a discussion of the basic concepts that underpin the study of syntax, then moves on to more complex issues. Each chapter carefully explains technical terms and uses easy-to-follow examples and hands-on exercises to illuminate key ideas.
The fifth edition has been thoroughly revised throughout, and a new chapter on information structuring has been added. From words and phrases to constituency and argumentation, the book's broad coverage and clear organisation make it essential reading for all students of English and linguistics who are encountering the study of syntax for the first time.
Synopsis
Written by a leading authority on the subject, the fifth edition of this bestselling book provides students with a thorough grounding in the essentials of sentence structure and the fundamentals of syntactic argumentation.
Divided into four parts, it begins by examining the basic concepts that underpin the study of syntax, before moving on to more complex issues. The first part introduces the foundations of syntax, namely clauses and sentences; the second looks at the internal structure of phrases and the bridge between syntax and semantics; the third deals with syntactic argumentation; and the fourth focuses on argumentation and its application. Chapters feature clear explanations of technical terms, easy-to-follow examples and interactive exercises to illustrate key ideas.
This theoretically-neutral text will be core reading for all students of English, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics who are encountering the study of syntax for the first time.
Synopsis
This textbook on English syntax aims to give students a thorough grounding in the basics of sentence structure, and at the same time strives to acquaint them with the essentials of syntactic argument. The text is written in a user-friendly style with many 'hands-on' in-text and chapter-final exercises. At the end of each chapter there is a section with suggested further reading material, and there is a bibliography and list of recommended reference works at the end of the book.