Books › A Comprehensive grammar of the English language
A Comprehensive grammar of the English language
1779 pages
A monumental, meticulously structured exploration of the invisible rules that hold the English language together.
What it feels like
Opening this monumental reference work feels less like reading a book and more like studying the blueprints of a vast, intricate cathedral. The pace is inherently steady and deliberate, demanding that the reader slow down to absorb its dense, meticulously structured insights. There is a quiet, intellectual thrill in navigating its pages, where the mood is deeply analytical and unapologetically scholarly. The prose is uncompromisingly precise, stripping away flourish to reveal the raw, fascinating mechanics of syntax and grammar. It is an experience of profound discovery for hardcore linguists, writers, and language obsessives who find beauty in categorization and rules. Ultimately, it leaves you with a lingering sense of awe at the sheer complexity and architectural wonder of the English language.
- Mood
- analytical
- structured
- intellectual
- contemplative
- Tone
- authoritative
- meticulous
- objective
- scholarly
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- the architecture of language · syntactic complexity · academic rigor · linguistic mechanics
- The writing
- Rigorously academic and uncompromisingly precise, the text is built to deliver exhaustive detail with absolute clarity.
- The arc
- The reader moves from seeking a simple rule to becoming entirely immersed in the vast, intricate machinery of human communication.
- Who it's for
- Hardcore linguists, grammarians, and language obsessives who want the ultimate, definitive map of English syntax.
About the book
From the time when we started collaborating as a team in the 1960s, we envisaged not a grammar but a series of grammars. In 1972, there appeared the first volume in this series, A Grammar of Contemporary English (GCE). This was followed soon afterwards by two shorter works, A Communicative Grammar of English (CGE) and A University Grammar of English (UGE), published in the United States with the title A Concise Grammar of Contemporary English. With A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, we attempt something much more ambitious: a culmination of our joint work, which results in a grammar that is considerably larger and richer than GCE and hence superordinate to it. Yet, as with our other volumes since GCE, it is also a grammar that incorporates our own further research on grammatical structure as well as the research of scholars worldwide who have contributed to the description of English and to developments in linguistic theory. - Preface.
Description from Open Library.
Books like A Comprehensive grammar of the English language
See why they match
A Concise Grammar of Contemporary EnglishRandolph QuirkA rigorous, scholarly deep dive into the structural mechanics and rules of the English language.
An introduction to functional grammarMichael HallidayA rigorous, paradigm-shifting deep dive into the hidden architecture of how human beings make meaning through language.
Understanding and using English grammarBetty Schrampfer AzarA definitive, structured guide that turns the chaotic rules of English into a satisfying, masterable puzzle.
Practical English UsageVarios AutoresA reassuring, definitive compass for navigating the most perplexing quirks and contradictions of the English language.
English Grammar in UseRaymond MurphyA structured, practical guide that transforms the complexities of language into clear, actionable exercises.
Syntactic structuresNoam ChomskyA rigorous, paradigm-shifting descent into the hidden mathematical architecture of human language.