An A-Z of English Grammar and Usage [antikvár]

viii An A-Z of English Grammar and Usage Introduction 1. Who is this book for? This book is a basic guide to the grammar and usage of English for anyone learning or teaching the language. If you are a learner, it is a reference book in which to look up problems you encounter in using the language, as well as a book to find out more about the way English works. If you are a teacher, it is a basic reference book to turn to when faced with something you are not sure of, as well as a source book to help you present grammar in class. 2. How is this book organised? To make grammar as accessible as possible, An A-Z of English Grammar and Usage is arranged alphabetically, like a dictionary. There are plenty of cross references so that, to look things up, it is not necessary to know any grammatical terms. For example, to find information on "the articles", you could look up a, the, zero article or articles, or, for information on conditionals, you could look up conditionals, If or unless. You could even lookup the ending -edto find information on the past tense and the past participle. Because of this alphabetical arrangement, there is no need for an index. 3. What is in this book? There are three kinds of entry in this book. (i) There are ordinary words of the language, such as if, when, should, and parts of words, such as the verb ending -ing. (ii) There are grammatical terms such as conditional, present perfect, sentence, clause. (iii) There are entries which cover a variety of things not usually found in a book on grammar. Some, such as invitations, thanking people, apologies, agreeing and disagreeing give examples of how grammar is used to perform these functions. Others, such as intonation, stress, spelling, paragraphs, show how the language is written and spoken. And others, such as letter-writing, formal and informal English, geographical names, give information on a variety of topics. At the end of the book, there is a list of irregular verbs.