Table of Contents
AcknowledgmentsPreface1. IntroductionOverviewBasic Forms- On terminology- On being ungrammatical- On good EnglishBasic meanings- 'I am more interesting in English Grammar'- Why can I say 'I shot the sheriff', but not *'I smiled the sheriff'? - Linguistic distanceMeanings in context- Discussion topics and projects- Teaching ideas- Further reading2. ArticlesOverviewBasic forms- An article machineBasic meanings- Countability- Singular or plural? - Individuation- Conceptual structure: classifying and identifyingMeanings in context- Already given: anaphoric and cataphoric (the)- Clearly given (zero article)- A note on a new article- Discussion topics and projects- Teaching ideas- Further reading3. Tense and aspectOverviewBasic forms- The basic structureBasic meanings- Tense- Aspect- Lexical aspect- Grammatical aspectMeanings in context- In a magazine article- In academic writing- In narratives- In a news report- In spoken discourse- Discussion topics and projects- Teaching ideas- Further reading4. ModalsOverviewBasic forms- The simple modalsBasic meanings- Epistemic modality- Root modality- Necessary and possibleMeanings in context- The potential of can- The possibility of may- The necessity of must- The likelihood of will- The requirements of should- Negation and modals- Discussion topics and projects- Teaching ideas- Further reading5. ConditionalsOverviewBasic forms- Factual conditionals- Predictive conditionals- Hypothetical conditionals- Counterfactual conditionalsBasic meanings- What happens if ...? - What will happen if ...? - What would happen if ...? - What would have happened if ...? Meanings in context- Restating- Contrasting- Listing alternatives- Giving examples- End-weight- Uncertainty and politeness- Exceptional and concessive conditionals- Discussion topics and projects- Teaching ideas- Further reading6. Prepositions and particlesOverviewBasic formsPrepositionsBasic meanings: prepositions- Location in space- Location in time- Location in metaphorParticlesBasic meanings: particles- Up and down- Off, on, out, and awayMeanings in context- End-weight- Discussion topics and projects- Teaching ideas- Further reading7. Indirect objectsOverviewBasic forms- Types of verbs- Basic structures: origins and pronunciationBasic meanings- Humans, transfer, and having- Transfer and not having- Creating, getting, and benefitingMeanings in context- End-weight- Linguistic distance- Discussion topics and projects- Teaching ideas- Further reading8. Infinitives and gerundsOverviewBasic formsBasic meanings- Group 1: verbs with only finite (that ...) complements- Group 2: verbs with only to-V non-finite complements- Group 3: verbs with only V-ing non-finite complements- Group 4: verbs with both to-V and V-ing complementsMeanings in context- Noun-like events- Verb-like actions- Deny and refuse- Types of verbs- Linguistic distance- Discussion topics and projects- Teaching ideas- Further reading9. Relative clausesOverviewBasic forms- Subject relatives- Object relatives- After-preposition relatives- Possessive relatives- Basic structuresBasic meanings- Who, which, that- Where, when, whyMeanings in context- Introducing new information- Connecting with given information- End-weight- Discussion topics and projects- Teaching ideas- Further reading10. Direct and indirect speechOverviewBasic formsBasic meanings- Direct speech as drama- Indirect speech as narrative- Summarized reports- Reporting verbs- 'The teachers were saying ...'Meanings in context- Free indirect discourse- Constructed dialogue- Discussion topics and projects- Teaching ideas- Further readingbr /GlossaryBibliographyAnswers to exercisesIndex