Descriptive English Grammar (2nd edition) PDF
The emphasis in this revised edition is definitely on the living language. Historical forms are cited only when they throw light on present-day usage. All sentences used for the illustrations and for the exercises in sentence analysis are taken from standard English, many of them from the classics. The material in the exercises in correcting substandard English comes chiefly from the oral and written speech of students registered in college English classes. By studying and comparing the two levels of English, the average student will be able to discover for himself that the best English is grammatical English.
The chief aim throughout the book has been to furnish the teacher and the student with material for a complete course in English grammar: the text covers the basic principles of Modern English usage. In both Part One and Part Two an effort has been made to place the responsibility of learning grammar upon the student. The approach is inductive: the student is encouraged to discover for himself the laws governing the behavior of his own language. The rules and definitions are presented somewhat formally in order to guide the student as he progresses from the simpler to the more difficult phases of syntax. They are not intended to be used for exercise in memory work. Once the student has learned the forms and the uses of the parts of speech as they appear in the various types of sentences in Modern English, he will be able to make his own rules and definitions.
The use that teachers and students make of this text will vary according to the previous training and needs of a given group. It may be used for reference or for drill. It is not presumed that the student using this book has had previous knowledge of the subject. Part One will provide what he needs to know of the particular parts of speech. Part Two will explain the intricacies of syntax and afford quantities of material for practice in sentence analysis and in the correction of the more common violations of good usage.
