The Frameworks of English: Introducing Language Structures

417 Pages·2013·3.15 MB·English

by  Kim Ballard

The Frameworks of English
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THE FRAMEWORKS
OF ENGLISH
Introducing language structures
Third Edition
KIM BALLARD
© Kim Ballard 2001, 2007, 2013
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted
save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,
Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First edition 2001
Second edition 2007
This edition 2013
Published by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY10010.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries
ISBN: 978–0–230–39243–4 hardback
ISBN: 978–0–230–39242–7 paperback
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing
processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the
country of origin.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
In memory of my grandparents
Ronald Elston Dell
&
Ivy Charlotte Dell
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Contents
List of Tables xii
List of Figures xiv
Acknowledgements xv
Part I Introduction
1 Introduction 3
1.1 A voyage around the English language 3
1.2 Frameworks and levels 4
1.3 Speech and writing 7
1.4 Which English? 8
1.5 Using this book 9
Part II Lexical Frameworks
2 Word Classes 15
2.1 Words: the building blocks of language 15
2.2 Word classes 20
2.3 Open and closed classes of words 21
2.4 Nouns 24
2.5 Lexical verbs 26
2.6 Adjectives 27
2.7 Adverbs 29
2.8 Pronouns 33
2.9 Determiners 39
2.10 Auxiliaries 42
2.11 Prepositions 44
2.12 Conjunctions 45
2.13 Wh-words 46
3 Word Formation 49
3.1 Simple and complex words 49
3.2 Some terms and concepts 50
vii
viii CONTENTS
3.3 Word-formation strategies 52
3.4 Affixation 53
3.5 Compounding 57
3.6 Multi-word verbs 59
3.7 Conversion and back-formation 61
3.8 Other word-formation strategies 62
3.9 Meanings and meaning relations 63
Lexical frameworks: exercises 70
Lexical frameworks: suggestions for further reading 73
Part III Grammatical Frameworks
4 Inflections 79
4.1 Inflections as an aspect of grammar 79
4.2 Inflections in contemporary English 80
4.3 Noun inflections 81
4.4 Verb inflections 85
4.5 Adjective and adverb inflections 89
4.6 Pronoun inflections 91
5 Phrases 93
5.1 What is a phrase? 93
5.2 Noun phrases 96
5.3 Verb phrases 101
5.4 Adjective and adverb phrases 110
5.5 Prepositional phrases 112
5.6 Embedding 114
5.7 Coordination and apposition of phrases 116
6 Clauses 118
6.1 What is a clause? 118
6.2 The five clause elements 119
6.3 Subject element 120
6.4 Verb element 121
6.5 Object element 122
6.6 Complement element 123
6.7 Adverbial element 124
6.8 Clause structures 127
6.9 Active and passive clauses 128
6.10 Non-finite clauses 129
CONTENTS ix
6.11 Main and subordinate clauses 130
6.12 Clauses as clause elements 131
6.13 Clauses within phrases 134
6.14 Nominal relative clauses 140
6.15 Negative clauses 141
6.16 Verbless clauses 142
7 Sentences 144
7.1 What is a sentence? 144
7.2 Sentence types 145
7.3 Declarative sentences 146
7.4 Interrogative sentences 147
7.5 Imperative sentences 151
7.6 Exclamative sentences 152
7.7 Other structural variations 152
7.8 Simple sentences 158
7.9 Compound sentences 161
7.10 Complex sentences 165
7.11 Adverbial clauses 171
Grammatical frameworks: exercises 174
Grammatical frameworks: suggestions for further reading 178
Part IV Discourse Frameworks
8 Beyond Sentences 183
8.1 Discourse 183
8.2 Text and context 184
8.3 Spoken and written discourse 186
8.4 Lexical cohesion 188
8.5 Repetition 191
8.6 Reference 193
8.7 Ellipsis 196
8.8 Cohesion in interactional discourse 198
8.9 Structure in interactional discourse 199
8.10 Discourse markers 203
8.11 Register 206
8.12 Electronically mediated discourse 210
Discourse frameworks: exercises 213
Discourse frameworks: suggestions for further reading 216