English Grammar: Language as Human Behavior, 3rd edition
Published by Pearson (January 10, 2012) © 2013
- Anita K Barry Professor Emerita, University of Michigan, Flint
eTextbook
- Easy-to-use search and navigation
- Add notes and highlights
- Search by keyword or page
- Hardcover, paperback or looseleaf edition
- Affordable rental option for select titles
- Free shipping on looseleafs and traditional textbooks
For undergraduate and graduate level courses in English grammar, syntax, and writing; also appropriate for a course in teaching English at the secondary level.
Approaching grammar as a process and not a product, this text engages students in a conversation about English that will help them reflect on how their language works and understand the social judgments that accompany language use–making them feel they are active participants in shaping their language rather than passive victims of grammar rules that someone imposes on them. Employing the terminology of traditional grammar combined with the insights gained by modern linguistic analysis, it describes English as an instrument of communication, and lays the necessary groundwork for thinking about language so that students can extend what they learn to new situations and apply their knowledge of language in ways most useful to them. Three different types of exercises support the learning and review processes and motivate students to think, talk, and write about English with increasing confidence and sophistication as the term progresses.
Basics of English are explored—Beginning with a discussion of the development of a standard English language and the origins of our present day rules of English and attitudes towards usage; lays the foundation for the study of grammar, emphasizing the complex interaction between language rules and behavior; talks about how one approaches the study of the structure of a language; and finally, works from the lowest levels of grammatical organization to the highest—starting with an analysis of words and working up to the level of the sentence.
- Gives students the critical insight they need to understand the concept of language as human behavior, and shows them that language is an organic system in which the parts are interrelated and function together to perform the highly complex task of communicating human thought.
Discussion exercises —Reinforces a newly introduced principle; designed for group work and distributed throughout the chapter.
- Lets students check their understanding in a non-threatening forum.
"Reflections”—Offers real-life, open-ended questions and project suggestions which draw connections between the chapter material and everyday usage, historical fact, literature, language change, and the media.
- Gets students to think about language use in real-world settings, stimulates class discussion, and engages students in timely, enjoyable discourses about their language.
Practice exercises—Integrate all information contained in the chapter and includes excerpts from literature to analyze, as well as examples of nonstandard usage to identify; answers provided for every other question.
- Enables students to check their understanding on their own and to identify problems that need special attention in class.
1. It includes a discussion of grammar on the Internet, an exciting new development, historically speaking, that allows for wideranging and
rich public discussion of grammar issues in ways not imagined in other centuries.
2. New examples from literary and other sources have been added
3. Exercises and explanations have been refined and in some instances are now more compatible with the needs of online students, who do
not have the benefit of regular facetoface interaction with instructors and other students.
4. The chapter on negation now preceds the clause level chapters to better serve as a helpful review of previously covered lexical categories.
of the chapter on negation, which now precedes the clause level chapters. In this position it serves as a helpful review of previously
covered lexical categories.
5. In recognition of the fact that many students using this book will be called on to teach grammar themselves, the authors has included some parting
comments addressed specifically to future teachers
PREFACE xiii
Chapter 1 WHY STUDY ENGLISH GRAMMAR? 1
Native Speakers and Grammar Study 1
Standard English 2
Judgments About English 4
The Legacy of the Eighteenth Century 7
Reflections 8
Chapter 2
HOW DO WE STUDYENGLISH GRAMMAR? 10
Why Do People Disagree About Grammar? 10Who Is the Authority? 10
What Role Do Traditional Dictionaries Play? 10
Online Grammar Sources 12
Why Is There No One Standard? 13
Why Do Languages Change? 14
What Are the Common Elements of English? 16
Constituent Structure 16
Rules and Regularities 19
Reflections 20
Chapter 3
NOUNS AND NOUN PHRASES 21What Are Nouns? 21
What Are Some Common
Subcategories of Nouns? 23
What Makes Up a Noun Phrase? 26
Determiners 27
Predeterminers and Postdeterminers 29
What Are the Functions of Noun Phrases? 30
Subject 30
Direct Object 32
Indirect Object 33
Object of a Preposition 35
Complement 35
Verbal Nouns and Noun Phrases 36
Compounds 38
Reflections 40
Practice Exercises 42
Chapter 4
VERBS AND VERB PHRASES 46What Are Verbs? 46
What About the Exceptions? 50
What Are Some Common
Subcategories of Verbs? 53
What Is Verb Tense? 57
What Makes Up a Verb Phrase? 63
What Are Nonfinite Verb Phrases? 66
Compounds 66
What Is SubjectVerb Agreement? 67
Reflections 72
Practice Exercises 76
Chapter 5 PRONOUNS 80
What Are Pronouns? 80
Personal Pronouns 81
Reflexive Pronouns 88
Reciprocal Pronouns 91
Demonstrative Pronouns 91
Relative Pronouns 92
Interrogative Pronouns 94
Universal and Indefinite Pronouns 95
Reflections 97
Practice Exercises 99
Chapter 6
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS 103What Are Adjectives? 103
How Do Adjectives Modify Nouns? 106
What Are Adjective Phrases? 108
What Are Adverbs? 109
Is All Well and Good? 112
What Are Adverb Phrases? 115
Reflections 116
Practice Exercises 117
Chapter 7
PREPOSITIONS AND PARTICLES 120What Are Prepositions? 120
What Are Prepositional Phrases? 121
What Are Particles? 125
Reflections 127
Practice Exercises 128
Chapter 8
NEGATION 131What Is Negation in Grammar? 131
Verb Negation 131
Negation of Indefinites 133
Noun Negation 135
Adjective and Adverb Negation 136
Negation of Compounds 137
Reflections 139
Practice Exercises 140
Chapter 9
VOICE 144What Is Grammatical Voice? 144
How Is the Passive Voice Formed? 146
How Are Grammatical Relations
Determined in the Passive Voice? 147
Why Do We Need the Passive Voice? 149
What Is a Truncated Passive? 150
Reflections 152
Practice Exercises 153
Chapter 10
DISCOURSE FUNCTION 156What Is Discourse Function? 156
Declaratives 157
Interrogatives 158
YesNo Questions 158
Wh Questions 160
Tag Questions 164
Minor Question Types 167
Imperatives 169
Exclamatives 170
Crossover Functions of Clause Types 171
Reflections 174
Practice Exercises 175
Chapter 11
COMBINING CLAUSES INTOSENTENCES: COORDINATION 179
How Is a Sentence Different from a Clause? 179Sentence Building Through Coordination 179
Clause Coordination and Ellipsis 183
Reflections 185
Practice Exercises 186
Chapter 12
COMBINING CLAUSES INTOSENTENCES: SUBORDINATION 189
Sentence Building Through Subordination 189Adverbial Clauses 191
Noun Clauses 194
Relative Clauses 199
Restrictive and Nonrestrictive
Relative Clauses 202
Reduced Relative Clauses 204
Naming Sentence Types 206
Reflections 208
Practice Exercises 210
Chapter 13
WHY STUDY ENGLISH GRAMMAR?(ONCE MORE!) 215
Teaching Grammar 215Final Reflections 217
ANSWERS TO PRACTICE EXERCISES 219
GLOSSARY 233
INDEX 241
A01_
Need help? Get in touch
![Video](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TCIok0KnHDc/hqdefault.jpg)
Pearson eTextbook: What’s on the inside just might surprise you
They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. It’s the same with your students. Meet each one right where they are with an engaging, interactive, personalized learning experience that goes beyond the textbook to fit any schedule, any budget, and any lifestyle.
![](https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/global-store/global/plp-pdp/1600x800-GettyImages-1172587378.jpg)
Digital Learning NOW
Extend your professional development and meet your students where they are with free weekly Digital Learning NOW webinars. Attend live, watch on-demand, or listen at your leisure to expand your teaching strategies. Earn digital professional development badges for attending a live session.