Oxford Modern English Grammar

Written by Bas Aarts, one of Britain's leading grammarians, Oxford Modern English Grammar is a brand new and definitive guide to the structure of contemporary British and American English.

This new grammar assumes no prior knowledge of grammatical concepts. Its broad coverage ranges from the very basic---such as word structure, simple phrases, and clause types---to more complex topics that lie at the intersection of grammar and meaning including tense and aspect mood and modality, and information structuring. Bas Aarts answers key questions, such as: How do words formed by `derivation' differ from words formed by `compounding' or `conversion'? Which verbs in English can take a declarative clause functioning as direct object (i.e. `decide that...' or `believe that...')? What is the relationship between a matrix clause and a subordinate clause? How does the grammar of English encode such semantic notions as `possibility,' `probability', `necessity,' `obligation' and `ability'? Aarts answers all these questions clearly and engagingly deeply enriching the reader's understanding of English grammar.

Oxford Modern Englis Grammar is invaluable for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Englis language and linguistics, and for anyone who needs a clear guide to English grammar.

Bas Aarts is Professor of English Linguistics and Director of the Survey of English Usage at University College London.