An Introduction to English Syntax: Second Edition

Jim Miller

In this revised and fully updated edition, Jim Miller covers the central concepts of syntax, which are applied in a wide range of university courses and business communication, teaching, and speech therapy. Miller handles concepts that are central to traditional grammar yet have been greatly refined over the past forty years: parts of speech and how to recognize them; constructions and their interrelationships; subordinate clauses and their different types; subjects and objects; agents and patients, and other roles. The volume identifies the links between syntax and meaning and between syntax and discourse. A new chapter especially focuses on the analysis of discourse, and the concluding chapter explores tense, aspect, and voice, topics that are central to the construction of texts and that are major to the learning of a second language. Miller also provides areas in which meaning and grammar closely interconnect.

Key features:

* Coverage of central themes with a wide application outside the study of syntax

* Explains basic concepts, supported by a glossary of technical terms

* Exercises and sources for further reading.

Related Subjects

• Linguistics
• Reference

About the Author

Jim Miller is professor emeritus at the University of Edinburgh, where he had a personal chair in linguistics and spoken language. He works on the syntax and discourse organization of spoken and written language, grammar and semantics, standard and non-standard languages, and literacy.

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