Basic Issues for a Practical English Grammar

Cuprinsul cărţii Basic Issues for a Practical English Grammar

A journey into the fascinating world of English/5

THE VERB/9

VALUES OF TENSES/9

Values of the Simple Present Tense/9

Values of the Present Continuous/13

Values of the Past Tense Simple/15

Values of the Present Perfect Simple/24

Values of the Present Perfect Continuous (Present Perfect Progressive)/29

Values of the Past Perfect Simple/30

Values of the Past Perfect Continuous/35

Past Perfect Progressive/35

Means of expressing Future Time/39

REPORTED SPEECH/53

Main characteristics:/53

MAIN CHANGES OF TENSES:/54

THE PASSIVE/59

VOICE/59

Main characteristics:/59

THE SUBJUNCTIVE/67

1. THE ANALYTIC SUBJUNCTIVE/67

2. THE SYNTHETIC SUBJUNCTIVE/68

CONDITIONALS/71

1. Present conditional (type 0)/71
2. First conditional (type 1)/73

CAN/75

SHOULD/75

MAY/75

MUST/75

1. Second conditional (type 2)/75

Modals/77

MIGHT/77

COULD/77

SHOULD (used in the first person)/77

1. Third conditional (type 3)/78

Modals/79

MIGHT/79

COULD/79

1. Mixed conditional sentences (type 4)/79

Other ways of introducing conditions/80

MODAL VERBS/83

MUST/83

HAVE (GOT) TO/85 NEED/87

OUGHT TO/88

SHALL/89

MAY and MIGHT/89

SHOULD/90

WILL AND WOULD/93

CAN and COULD /98

THE NOUN/103

1. Definition/103

2.       Clasification of Nouns/105

2.1.    Classification of Nouns According to Composition/105

2.2.    Classification of Nouns According to Derivation/105

2.3.    Classification of Nouns According to the Idea of Number/105

2.1.    Classification of Nouns According to Composition/105

A.       Simple Nouns: /105

B.       Compound Nouns: /105

2.2.    Classification of Nouns According to Derivation/106

A.       Conversion/106

B.       Contraction/107

C.       Abbreviation/107

D.      Affixation/108

E.       Deflexion/108

2.3. Classification of Nouns According to the Idea of Number /109

A. Individual Nouns/109

BASIC ISSUES FOR A PRACTICAL ENGLISH GRAMMAR

 B. Unique noun/111

C. Collective Nouns /113

Gender of Nouns /117

5. Declension of Nouns/119

1.       The Nominative Case/120

2.       The Genitive Case/120

3.       The Dative Case/122

4.       The Accusative Case/123

5. The Vocative / The Nominative of Address/124

THE ADJECTIVE/125

1. The adjectives used to express different qualities of the object have various forms: /125

2. Classification of the adjectives/127

 Degrees of Comparison/141

THE ADVERB/147

DEGREES OF COMPARISON/157

POSITION OF ADVERBS/161

Adverbs of Definite Time/161

Adverbs of indefinite Time and Frequency/161

Adverbs of Place/162

Adverbs of Manner/162

Adverbs of Degree/163

THE CONJUNCTION/165

The Classification of Conjunctions/165

THE PREPOSITION/199

The Classification of Prepositions/199

LIST OF IRREGULAR VERBS/275

Cuvânt înainte Basic Issues for a Practical English Grammar

In terms of its global expansion, the English language becomes a challenge to every citizen of the planet. But so much the more, it is a challenge for those concerned with communication in English, and, at the same time, with the act of knowledge. For all, English is the universal communication instrument, but not only. Shakespeare’s and Poe’s language has another major quality in the context of its communication means condition: it is the gateway to the universe of knowledge. Much of humanity’s knowledge, of this expanding noetic universe, is written in English. Therefore, mastering English is more than a challenge, it is a first degree necessity.

The book Basic Issues for a Practical English Grammar, as its very name suggests, focuses on some of the fundamental themes of the English grammar. It is not intended to be a comprehensive grammar, but, instead, is meant to be a different grammar. In this respect, it deals with major chapters and themes of the English morphology: the verb, the noun, the adjective, the adverb, the conjunction, the preposition. Each part of speech is addressed from two perspectives: theoretical and practical. The theoretical perspective focuses on the essential aspects, trying not to go beyond the limits of the useful and pragmatic academic information. The practical perspective convenes, in support of the conceptual part, literary examples that illustrate the theoretical situations. So that each grammatical subject, subordinated to one or another part of speech, is illustrated with examples from the English and American literature. Among the titles involved in this experience, there are masterpieces of the world literature such as: Heart of Darkness, The Pigeon, Lord of the Flies, The End of the Affair, Ape and Essence, The Portrait of a Lady, Dubliners, Animal Farm, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, A Handful of Dust, Mrs Dalloway, etc.

The book is a pragmatic instrument both for the theoretical knowledge on the English grammar and for the practical illustration of the topics in contexts of literary communication. As an academic guide in English, it is aimed at students of all degrees, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral students, researchers, but also at a vast and diverse audience that includes experts and professionals from different fields, and, generally speaking, at all those interested in passionate about the English language.

Therefore, the author invites the readers in a fascinating journey into the world of English, a universe of communication and knowledge covering what we now call the Anglosphere, i.e. the Anglophone spaces of the planet, a vast territory of great civilisations and cultures. In this journey we are not alone, but accompanied by famous guides in the language and literature areas, such as: Joseph Conrad, John Galsworthy, William Golding, Graham Greene, Aldous Huxley, Henry James, James Joyce, George Orwell, JK Rowling, Evelyn Waugh, Virginia Woolf, and others. In other words, a linguistic and cultural adventure in a fabulous world.

The Author

Despre autor

Sorin Ivan