English Grammar: Language as Human Behavior, 3rd edition

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