Daniel Kies Department of English College of DuPage
Modern English Grammar English 2126		Contact Form

Syllabus

Modern English Grammar

Office:	BIC 2729E
Office phones:	630-942-2415 630-942-3935 (fax)
Office hours:	Office Hours On Campus  Virtual Office Hours   in BIC 2729E     in the Chat Room on eForum   Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 4 to 5:30 pm 12:30 to 2:30 pm 4 to 6:30 pm 12:30 to 2:30 pm 8 to 10 am         [Friday & other times by appointment] [by appointment only]
Email:	Daniel@papyr.com or KiesDan@cod.edu
Our web sites:	//papyr.com/hypertextbooks/grammar/ our grammar HyperTextBook
Course Description, Goals & Objectives:	A systematic and rigorous survey of the structure of contemporary English. Also explored are usage issues (including problems with the sentence, punctuation, and agreement) and their underlying sources (language change, language attitudes, and the notion of Standard English). Traces the effects of stylistic, regional, and social variation on English usage. The course goals include enhancing the students' abilities to Apply the principles of syntactic analysis to a variety of texts Assess the accuracy of a grammatical analysis Define, describe, and classify different types of usage problems Diagnose and edit usage errors appropriately in context Recognize the basics of language variation, including historical, geographical, social, and stylistic variation Assess how such variation affects judgments of acceptability in language use The topics we will cover are wide in scope, including A Systematic Survey of English Syntax The sentence The structure of the clause The structure of the phrase Word classes Linking clauses through coordination and subordination Usage Issues in Modern English Grammar Punctuation Usage Problems Subject-verb agreement Case Auxiliaries Adjective-Adverb Confusions Spelling Style Emphasis Clarity Concision and Consistency Grammar and literary analysis Conclusion Language Death and Language Decay — just to name a few. The course also focuses on the three fundamental issues underlying all errors of grammatical usage: the notion of Standard English, the effects of language change on English grammar, and the effects of language attitudes on our ideas of "correct" English. This course will be of interest not only to English, education, journalism and technical writing students, but also anyone who wishes to improve his/her editing and proofreading abilities. This course will satisfy the State of Illinois English language requirement for teachers and education majors.
Text:	Sidney Greenbaum, A College Grammar of English, London: Longman, 1989. (ISBN: 0582285976)
Grades:	The final grade will be a composite of three equally weighted assignments:   Test Grades A 100% - 91% B 90% - 81% C 80% - 71% D 70% - 61% F 60% - 00% weekly tests during the term, a final examination, and a term project. Grading of each test is based on percentages indicated in the adjacent table.

Term Projects:

The term project may be either a "research" paper on a relevant topic of your choosing or you may "create" your own project to satisfy this portion of the course work. And of course you may choose to blend both research and writing. If you choose a research project, examine the list of research topics that I will provide. Also, you may develop papers around issues discussed in class. Or you may study a problem arising from personal, local, or community issues, interests, or needs. If you choose to create your project, you may focus on any area of MEG you desire to investigate.

Incompletes	Incompletes will be allowed for special cases such as health or family emergencies, call to active duty, or sudden, verified illness. Students are required to provide appropriate documentation for all requests for a grade of Incomplete. Students must also have successfully completed 67% of the required course work prior to the request for a grade of Incomplete. Grades of Incomplete must be completed within the next academic term. Please let me know prior to the final exam week of the term if you think you might require an incomplete.
Satisfactory/Fail (S/F) Grading Option	If students elect the "Satisfactory/Fail" grading option for this course, they must complete all the course work, earning a grade of "C" or higher to meet the requirements for a "Satisfactory" grade.
The College's Withdrawal Policy	Effective Fall 2012, the final day for a student to withdraw from any course will be equal to 75% of the academic session. For Spring semester, therefore, the last day to withdraw is April 12, 2013. See the academic calendar published on the College's web site at http://www.cod.edu/academics/pdf/fy12cal.pdf for full details. Under the new policy, students may drop any course for any reason up to the last day to withdraw and will receive a grade of W on their transcripts. After April 12, 2013, no withdrawals will be allowed except for special cases, such as health or family emergencies, call to active duty, or sudden, verified illness. Those students are required to provide the Registration Office appropriate documentation for all requests for late withdrawals. Students who drop after April 12, 2013 without an approved Petition for Late Withdrawal from the Registration Office will receive a grade of F. Students will not be eligible to petition for late withdrawal after the designated final examination time for 16- and 12-week classes.

---

THE GRAMMAR OF MODERN ENGLISH

Week 1

Topic: Introduction

1. MEG
2. Usage
3. The Sentence

Reading

1. Greenbaum, chaps. 1 and 2.
2. All the pages in this HyperTextBook listed under General Information about this Course on the Table of Contents

Answer key (.pdf file – password required)

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2

Practice Quizzes:

Exploring which "rules" are prescriptive? which descriptive?:

Quiz: prescriptive or descriptive?

Week 2

Topic: The Structure of Clauses, Part 1
Reading:

1. Greenbaum, chap 3.
2. The Clause in English

Answer key (.pdf file – password required)

1. Chapter 3

Practice Quizzes:

The eight grammatical functions in the English clause:

Quiz 1 version A: Identifying the eight clause functions

Quiz 1 version B: Identifying the eight clause functions

Quiz 1 version C: Identifying the eight clause functions

Quiz 1 version D: Identifying the eight clause functions

Week 3

Topic: The Structure of Clauses, Part 2
Reading

1. Greenbaum, chap 3.
2. The Clause in English

Answer key (.pdf file – password required)

1. Chapter 3

Practice Quizzes

Identifying the five phrases in the English clause:

Quiz 2 version A: Identifying constituent phrases in the clause

Quiz 2 version B: Identifying constituent phrases in the clause

Quiz 2 version C: Identifying constituent phrases in the clause

Quiz 2 version D: Identifying constituent phrases in the clause

Week 4

Topic: The Structure of Phrases, Part 1
Reading

1. Greenbaum, chap 4.
2. The Phrase in English

Answer key (.pdf file – password required)

1. Chapter 4

Practice Quizzes

Identifying NP constituents:

Quiz 3 version A: Identifying NP constituents by function

Quiz 3 version B: Identifying NP constituents by function

Quiz 3 version C: Identifying NP constituents by form

Quiz 3 version D: Identifying NP constituents by form

Week 5

Topic: The Structure of Phrases, Part 2
Reading

1. Greenbaum, chap 4.
2. The Phrase in English

Answer key (.pdf file – password required)

1. Chapter 4

Practice Quizzes

Identifying VP constituents:

Quiz 4 version A: Finding VPs in the clause

Quiz 4 version B: Identifying VP constituents by function

Quiz 4 version C: Identifying VP constituents by form

Quiz 4 version D: Identifying VP constituents by form

Identifying AdjP constituents:

Quiz 5 version A: Finding AdjPs in the clause

Quiz 5 version B: Identifying AdjP constituents by function

Quiz 5 version C: Identifying AdjP constituents by form

Quiz 5 version D: Identifying AdjP constituents by form

Identifying AdvP constituents:

Quiz 6 version A: Finding AdvPs in the clause

Quiz 6 version B: Identifying AdvP constituents by function

Quiz 6 version C: Identifying AdvP constituents by form

Quiz 6 version D: Identifying AdvP constituents by form

Identifying PP constituents:

Quiz 7 version A: Finding PPs in the clause

Quiz 7 version B: Identifying PP constituents by function

Quiz 7 version C: Identifying PP constituents by form

Quiz 7 version D: Identifying PP constituents by form

Week 6

Topic: Word Classes
Reading

1. Greenbaum, chap 5.
2. The Structure of Words and Word Classes in English

Answer key (.pdf file – password required)

1. Chapter 5

Summary (.pdf file – password required)

1. Form and Function: a Classification

Practice Quizzes

Identifying word classes:

Quiz 8 version A: Identifying word classes

Quiz 8 version B: Identifying word classes

Quiz 8 version C: Identifying word classes

Quiz 8 version D: Identifying word classes

Quiz 8 version E: Identifying word classes

Quiz 8 version F: Identifying word classes

Week 7

Topic: Linking Clauses, Part 1
Reading

1. Greenbaum, chap 6.
2. Coordination and Subordination

1. Coordination

Answer key: (.pdf file – password required)

1. Chapter 6

Practice Quizzes

Identifying coordination and subordination:

Quiz 9: Counting clauses

Quiz 9 version A: Finding coordinated and subordinated clauses

Quiz 9 version B: Identifying coordinators and subordinators

Quiz 9 version C: Identifying subordinate clauses by function

Week 8

Topic: Linking Clauses, Part 2

1. Subordination

Reading

1. Greenbaum, chap 6.

• The Major Principles of Syntax

Answer key (.pdf file – password required)

1. Chapter 6

Practice Quizzes

Identifying coordination and subordination:

Quiz 9 version D: Identifying subordinate clauses by form

Quiz 9 version E: Identifying subordinate clauses by form

Quiz 9 version F: Identifying subordinate clauses by form

Quiz 9 version G: Identifying subordinate clauses by form

Quiz 9 version H: Identifying subordinate clauses by form

USAGE ISSUES IN MODERN ENGLISH

Week 9

Topic: Punctuation
Reading

1. Greenbaum, chap 7.
2. A Handbook of Selected Punctuation Marks

Answer key (.pdf file – password required)

1. Chapter 7

Week 10

Topic: Usage Problems, Part 1

1. Subject - Verb Agreement
2. Pronoun Agreement
3. Auxiliary Verbs

Reading

1. Greenbaum, chap 8.
2. Usage Issues in Modern English Grammar

Answer key (.pdf file – password required)

1. Chapter 8

Spring Break

Week 11

Topic: Usage Problems, Part 2

4. Case
5. Confusion of Adjectives and Adverbs

Reading

1. Greenbaum, chap 8.
2. Evaluating Grammar Checkers

Answer key (.pdf file – password required)

1. Chapter 8

Practice Quiz

Test your ability to recognize the 20 common usage issues in first-year university writing:

Twenty Common Usage Problems

Week 12

Topic: Style , Part 1

1. Emphasis
2. Clarity
3. Consistency

Reading

1. Greenbaum, chap 9.

Week 13

Topic: Style , Part 2

4. Cohesion
5. Coherence
6. Unity

Reading

1. Greenbaum, chap 9.
2. The Grammatical Foundation of Style

Week 14

Topic: Using Grammar

1. Literary Analysis

Reading:

1. Greenbaum, chap 10.

Project due

Week 15

Topic: Course Review

Exam Week

Topic: Final Exam

(The exam will be done in our regular classroom at our regular time, according to the exam schedule.)

Current work:   Days remaining this term: Notes: Add Note |  Log in? | Privacy | Change Name & Email Mail this page to a friend

^Take Note! | Table of Contents | eForum | Search

The HyperTextBooks | The English Main Page | College of DuPage