American English Grammar An Introduction

American English Grammar introduces students to American English in detail, from parts of speech, phrases, and clauses to punctuation and explaining (and debunking) numerous "rules of correctness," integrating its discussion of Standard American grammar with thorough coverage of the past sixty years’ worth of work on African American English and other ethnic and regional non-Standard varieties. The book’s examples and exercises include 500 real-world sentences and longer texts, drawn from newspapers, film, song lyrics, and online media as well as from Mark Twain, Stephen King, academic texts, translations of the Bible, poetry, drama, children’s literature, and transcribed conversation and TV and radio shows. Based ontwenty years of classroom testing and revision, American English Grammar will serve as a classroom text or reference that teaches students how to think and talk not only about the mechanics of sentencesbut also about the deep and detailed soul and nuance of the most widely used language in human history.

Contents Introduction Language Variety and Grammar The Point of the Book A Summary of the Book Key Points A Guide to Non-Standard American Varieties Acknowledgements Credits Abbreviations and Conventions Introduction Notes Chapter 1: Sentences; Parts of Speech and Their Phrases Sentences: Subjects, Verbs, Verb Complements, and Sentence Modifiers 1.2 Parts of Speech and Their Phrases Key Points 1.3 Exercises: Sentences Chapter 1: Notes Chapter 2: Nouns (N) and Noun Phrases (NP) 2.1 Noun Features 2.2 Noun Phrases 2.3 Noun Phrase Functions Key Points 2.4 Exercises: Noun Phrases Chapter 2 Notes Chapter 3: Prepositions (P) and Prepositional Phrases (PP) 3.1 Prepositions: Form and Function 3.2 Prepositional Phrases: Form and Function 3.3 Prepositions and Language Variation Key Points 3.4 Exercises: Prepositional Phrases Chapter 3 Notes Chapter 4: Adjectives (Adj) and Adjective Phrases (AdjP); Determiners (D) and Determiner Phrases (DP) 4.1 Adjective Forms 4.1.1 Adjective Phrases: Forms and Functions 4.2 Determiners (D) and Determiner Phrases (DP) 4.2.1 Determiner Forms 4.2.2 Determiner Phrases: Forms and Functions 4.3 What makes determiners different from adjectives? And why are number determiners? Key Points 4.4 Exercises Chapter 4 Notes Chapter 5: Pronouns (ProN) and Pronoun Phrases (ProNP) 5.1 Pronoun Forms 5.2 Pronoun Attributes: Case, Number, Person, Gender, Animateness 5.3 Pronoun Functions 5.4 Identifying Pronouns Key Points 5.5 Exercises: Pronouns Chapter 5 Notes Chapter 6: Verbs (V) 6.1 Verb Forms 6.1.1 Tense 6.1.2 Modality, Aspect, and Voice 6.1.2.1 Modality 6.1.2.2 Aspect 6.1.2.3 Voice 6.1.3 Tense, Modality, Aspect, Voice: Putting Them All Together 6.1.4 Imperative Mood 6.1.5 Subjunctive Mood 6.1.6 Auxiliary dó 6.1.7 Generic Past Semi-auxiliary used to 6.1.8 Non-Standard Absent be 6.1.9 How many bes are there? 6.2 Identifying Verbs Key Points 6.3 Exercises: Verbs: Tense, Mood, Aspect, Voice Chapter 6 Notes Chapter 7: Verb Phrases (VP) 7.1 Verb Complements 7.1.1 Verbs with No Complements: Intransitive Verbs 7.1.2 Verbs with One Complement 7.1.2.1 Monotransitive Verbs 7.1.2.2 Intransitive Linking Verbs and Copular be with a Nominal or Adjectival Subject Complement 7.1.2.3 Intransitive Copular be with an Adverbial Subject Complement 7.1.2.4 Intransitive Verbs with an Adverbial Complement 7.1.2.5 Intransitive Quotative Verbs 7.1.3 Verbs with Two Complements 7.1.3.1 Ditransitive Verbs 7.1.3.2 Complex Transitive Verbs with a Direct Object and a Nominal or Adjectival Object Complement 7.1.3.3 Complex Transitive Verbs with a Direct Object and an Adverbial Object Complement 7.1.3.4 Complex Transitive Verbs with a Direct Object and a Participle Phrase 7.1.3.5 Complex Transitive Verbs with Direct Object and Infinitive Phrase 7.1.3.6 Transitive Quotative Verbs 7.1.4 Phrasal Verbs (PV) 7.1.4.1 Intransitive PVs 7.1.4.2 PVs with One Particle and One Complement 7.1.4.2.1 Transitive Separable PVs 7.1.4.2.2 Transitive Inseparable PVs 7.1.4.3 Transitive PV with a Second NP Verb Complement 7.1.4.4 Transitive PV with Two Inseparable Particles 7.1.4.5 Phrasal Verbs with Two Particles and Two Complements 7.1.4.5.1 Transitive PV with Two Separable Particles and a NP:VC 7.1.4.5.2 Transitive PV with Two Inseparable Particles and a NP:VC 7.2 Summary of Verb Complement and Phrasal Verb Patterns Key Points 7.3 Exercises: Verb Complements and Phrasal Verbs Chapter 7 Notes Chapter 8: Adverbs (Adv) and Adverb Phrases (AdvP) 8.1 Adverb Phrases 8.2 Identifying Adverbs 8.3 Negation Key Points 8.4 Exercises: Adverb Phrases Chapter 8 Notes Chapter 9: Conjunctions (Conj) 9.1 Coordinating Conjunctions 9.2 Conjoining Punctuation 9.2.1 Commas 9.2.2 An Aside about Semicolons 9.2.3 An Aside about Dashes, Hyphens, and Parentheses 9.2.4 A Further Aside on Hyphens 9.2.5 Hey: What about Colons? 9.2.6 One More Conjunctive Punctuation Mark You Don’t Think About: Virgules 9.2.7 Summary of Conjoining Punctuation "Rules" A Brief Discussion of Interjections Key Points 9.3 Exercises: Conjunctions and Conjoining Punctuation Chapter 9 Notes Chapter 10: Clauses 10.1 Independent Clauses—a.k.a. Sentences 10.1.1 Interrogative Sentences 10.1.2 Imperative Mood Sentences 10.1.3 Expletive there 10.1.4 Expletive it 10.1.5 Passive Voice 10.1.6 Inversion 10.2 Dependent Clauses 10.2.1 Adjective Clauses (AdjCl; a.k.a. Relative Clauses) 10.2.1.1 Relative Pro-words 10.2.2 Noun Clauses (NCl) 10.2.3 Adverb Clauses (AdvCl; a.k.a. Subordinate Clauses) 10.2.3.1 Subordinating Conjunctions (SConj) Key Points 10.3 Exercises: Clauses Chapter 10 Notes Chapter 11: Nominals, Adjectivals, and Adverbials 11.1 Nominals 11.2 Adjectivals 11.3 Adverbials 11.3.1 Scope 11.3.2 Subjunct Adverbials 11.3.3 Adjunct Adverbials 11.3.4 Disjunct Adverbials 11.3.5 Conjunctive Adverbials 11.3.6 Sentence Modifiers and Clause Modifiers Key Points 11.4 Exercises: Nominals, Adjectivals, and Adverbials Chapter 11 Notes Chapter 12: Non-Finite Verb Phrases 12.1 Participles (Part) and Participle Phrases (PartP) 12.1.1 Nominal Participle Phrases 12.1.2 Adjectival Participle Phrases 12.1.3 Adverbial Participle Phrases 12.1.4 The Agent of the Participle 12.1.5 PartPs with Auxiliary and Semi-Auxiliary Verbs 12.1.6 PartPs Preceded by a Subordinator 12.2 Infinitives (Inf) and Infinitive Phrases (InfP) 12.2.1 Nominal Infinitive Phrases 12.2.2 Adjectival Infinitive Phrases 12.2.3 Adverbial Infinitive Phrases 12.2.4 The Agent of the Infinitive 12.2.5 InfPs with Auxiliary and Semi-Auxiliary Verbs 12.2.6 InfPs Preceded by a Subordinator Key Points 12.3 Exercises: Participle and Infinitive Phrases Chapter 12 Notes Chapter 13: A Grand Review Exercise Index

Seth R. Katz is Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of English at Bradley University, USA.