Learning a foreign language is much easier when it is approached with a knowledge of language structure ('grammar'), but many students find grammar mystifying. This text explains points of grammar straightforwardly using examples from several widely-studied languages, including English, so that students can see how the same principles work across different languages, and how the structures of different languages correspond both formally and functionally. The use of concrete examples makes grammar less abstract and easier to grasp, allowing students to relate what they are learning to knowledge that they already possess unconsciously; it simultaneously brings that knowledge up to a conscious level.
By:
Don Ringe (University of Pennsylvania)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 245mm,
Width: 174mm,
Spine: 13mm
Weight: 490g
ISBN: 9781108441230
ISBN 10: 1108441238
Pages: 230
Publication Date: 23 August 2018
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
How to use this book; 1. Introduction; 2. Sentences, clauses, and their verbs; 3. Subjects; 4. Noun phrases; 5. Pronouns and subject-verb agreement; 6. Direct objects; 7. Double-object verbs; 8. 'Linking' verbs; 9. Personal pronoun systems; 10. Reflexives and passives; 11. Possession; 12. Gender, concord, and noun classifications; 13. Case systems and adpositions: the Latin system; 14. Tense, aspect, and auxiliary verbs: the English verb system; 15. Tense, aspect, and mood: the Spanish verb system; 16. The Latin verb system; 17. The Hebrew verb system; 18. The Navajo verb system; 19. The Mandarin verb system; 20. Negation; 21. Questions; 22. Adjectives and relative clauses; 23. Articles, demonstratives, and quantifiers; 24. Subordinate clauses, infinitives, and verbal nouns; 25. Participles; 26. Comparative constructions; 27. The segmental sounds of human languages; 28. Prosody; 29. Writing systems; 30. The lexicon; Epilogue: 'bad grammar'; Answers to the exercises; Glossary of technical terms; Languages used as examples in the exercises; References; Index.
Don Ringe has been teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students for more than thirty years. In addition to historical linguistics and comparative Indo-European linguistics, he has taught a wide range of ancient and mediaeval languages. In 2012 he won the Ira Abrams Award for Distinguished Teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author or co-author of half a dozen linguistics books.
Reviews for An Introduction to Grammar for Language Learners
'This excellent book represents a new approach to languages and how to learn them. It takes the reader through the wonderful peculiarities and challenges of real language with minimal jargon and maximum common sense. It is packed with insight and practical tips on how to start understanding grammar.' Stephen Colvin, University College London
