Throughout the book, grammatical explanations are followed by lists of the words that typically illustrate that grammatical point. For example, in Chapter 3, the point is made that many verbs can be either transitive or intransitive with the same meaning. This is followed by a list of verbs that are frequently used in this way.
The lists go beyond the actual examples of use that are given, to other words that behave in similar ways. They show whether the point being made can be applied to a small number or a large number of words. If the group is small, all members of it are given. If it is large, then the most frequently used words are given.
These lists can be used to help you increase your vocabulary and to check that you are using newly learned English words correctly.
Additional contents
In addition to the main text, there are various other sections which are included to help you to get the most out of this Grammar. These additional sections are described below.
Glossary of grammatical terms
The Glossary explains the meaning of grammatical terms. It covers the terms that are used in this grammar, and also includes terms that are used in other grammars, with a cross-reference to the term used in this book, where appropriate. For example, this grammar talks about the present progressive, whereas some other grammars call it the present continuous. Both of these terms are mentioned in the Glossary, with the explanation being given at present progressive.
The Reference Section
This section at the back of the book provides an easy-to-use reference guide that shows how the following groups of words are formed:
• plurals of nouns
• the comparative and superlative of adjectives
• ‘-ly’ adverbs formed from adjectives
• the comparative and superlative of adverbs
• tenses
• other verb forms
• passives
• principal parts of irregular verbs
The Reference Section also includes other topics. For example, it starts with a pronunciation guide, to remind you of the sounds of English. There are also lists of numbers, and an explanation of how numbers are expressed aloud.
Index
The Index is a comprehensive list of everything dealt with in the Grammar. It covers:
(i) the grammatical and functional topics dealt with in the Grammar;
(ii) individual words where they are used as examples of a particular grammatical point;
(iii) grammatical terms, both those used in this book and those commonly used in other books.
Glossary of grammatical terms
abstract noun a noun used to describe a quality, idea, or experience rather than something physical or concrete; e.g. joy, size, language. Compare with concrete noun.
active used for describing verb phrases such as gives, and has made, where the subject is the person or thing doing the action or responsible for the action. Compare with passive.
adjectival clause another name for relative clause.
adjective a word used to tell you more about a thing, such as its appearance, colour, size, or other qualities; e.g. …a pretty blue dress.
adverb a word that gives more information about when, how, where, or in what circumstances something happens; e.g. quickly, now. There are several different kinds of adverb; adverbs of degree, manner, place, time, duration, and frequency. There are also focusing adverbs.
adverbial a word or combination of words added to a clause to give more information about time, place, or manner. See also sentence adverbial and sentence connector.
adverb of degree an adverb indicating the amount or extent of a feeling or quality; e.g. extremely.
adverb/adverbial of duration an adverb or adverbial indicating how long something lasts; e.g. briefly, for a long time.
adverb/adverbial of frequency an adverb or adverbial indicating how often something happens; e.g. often, once a week.
adverb of manner an adverb indicating the way in which something happens or is done; e.g. carefully.
adverb of place an adverb that gives more information about position or direction; e.g. Move closer.
adverb particle an adverb used as part of a phrasal verb; e.g. hide out, sit up, turn round.
affirmative not containing a negative word. Also called positive.
agent another name for performer.
agreement the relationship between a subject and its verb, or between a number or determiner and its noun; e.g. I look/she looks… one bell/three bells. Also called concord.
apostrophe s an ending (’s) added to a noun to mark possession; e.g. …Harriet’s daughter… the professor’s husband… the Managing Director’s secretary.
article see definite article, indefinite article.
aspect the use of verb forms to show whether an action is continuing, repeated, or finished.
attributive used for describing the position of adjectives when they are used in front of a noun. Compare with predicative.
auxiliary verb one of the verbs be, have, and do when they are used with a main verb to make verb forms, negatives, questions, and so on. Also called auxiliary. Modals are also auxiliary verbs.
bare infinitive another name for infinitive without to.
base form the form of a verb that has no letters added to the end and is not a past form; e.g. walk, go, have, be. The base form is the form you look up in a dictionary.
broad negative one of a small group of adverbs including barely and seldom which are used to make a statement almost negative; e.g. I barely knew her.
cardinal number a number used for counting; e.g. one, seven, nineteen.
classifying adjective an adjective used to identify something as being of a particular type; e.g. Indian, wooden, mental. They do not have comparatives or superlatives. Compare with qualitative adjective.
clause a group of words containing a verb. See also main clause and subordinate clause.