Quirk Randolph. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language

Longman, 1985. — 1779 p. — ISBN 0582517346.This grammar has been prepared with three objectives in view. First, while covering in an up-to-date manner the ground common to all English grammars , it is designed particularly to meet the needs of the foreign student of English. So, for example, the tenses of the verb, the use of prepositions and 'phrasal verbs', the articles, and word order are dealt with in considerable detail; many examples are given of t he commonest sentence patterns in English : and there are tables showing the uses of the determinative words all frequent sources of difficulty to t he foreign student. Secondly, it is intended to be really comprehensive, in that it will , as far as possible, provide an answer to any grammatical problem the student of English is likely to encounter. Brief accounts of the history of t he language and of the phonetics and intonation of English have been included also, since these matters-although not strictly 'grammar'-are bound to be of interest and importance to most students of the language. Lastly, it is meant to be a practical grammar, one that is suitable both for work in class and for students working on their own; so it is provided with a very full index and with plenty of exercises. Although this grammar has not been directed at any particular examination, the needs of examination candidates have been borne in mind , and it should give ample material to prepare students for the English language papers set in any of the usual examinations. Our thanks are due to Mr. . H.W. Acomb, M.A. , and to Mr. S. C. White, M.A. , C. E. E. J. M. E.Pronunciation table
Abbreviations and symbols
The English language
A survey of English grammar
Verbs and auxiliaries
The semantics of the verb phrase
Nouns and determiners
Pronouns and numerals
Adjectives and adverbs
The semantics and grammar of adverbials
Prepositions and prepositional phrases
The simple sentence
Sentence types and discourse functions
Pro-forms and ellipsis
Coordination
The complex sentence
Syntactic and semantic functions of subordinate clauses
Complementation of verbs and adjectives
The noun phrase
Theme, focus, and information processing
From sentence to text
Appendix I Word-formation
Appendix II Stress, rhythm, and intonation
Appendix III Punctuation