Table of Contents

An introduction to the study of grammar and, more specifically to the study of the clause in English.

Some exploration into the dual nature of grammatical structure — how language can be studied from the viewpoint of both form and function.

A discussion of the subject function in the clause.

A discussion of the verb function in the clause.

A review of the function of direct objects in the clause.

A review of the indirect object function in the clause.

An exploration into one of the lesser known constituents of the clause — object complements [object predicatives].

A study of the function of subject complements [subject predicatives], also known as the predicate nominal or predicate adjective.

A look at two functions that are commonly overlooked.

Learn how grammatical structures are often open to multiple interpretations.

A list of references for the clause pages.

A discussion of the forms and functions in the noun phrase.

A discussion of the forms and functions in the verb phrase.

A review of the forms and functions in the adjective phrase.

A review of the forms and functions in the adverb phrase.

A look at the forms and functions in the prepositional phrase.

A list of references for the phrase pages.

The Word Rank:
An Introduction        

A discussion of the structures within and constituents of the word.

A discussion of the two primary properties of language that allow us to recognize word classes — word endings and word context.

Introducing the basic concepts of coordination and subordination, and discussing how those concepts force to re-evaluate the ideas of clause and sentence.

A taxonomy of the forms of subordination in English.

A discussion of the many grammatical functions served by subordination in English.

A list of references for the coordination and subordination pages.

Introducing the concept of metafunction, the central idea in understanding style in language.

A discussion of the grammatical properties that create coherent writing.

Metaphor, Indeterminacy, and Gradience

A list of references for the style pages.

These studies below are based on the research of Robert Connors and Andrea Lunsford, "Twenty Common Usage Errors."

Punctuating Introductory Elements

Discussing the usage of a comma after an introductory adverb, prepositional phrase, or subordinate clause.

Vague Pronoun Reference

Describing and explaining some of the sources and solutions to reference problems with pronouns.

Comma in Compound Sentences

Coordinators linking main clauses often use a comma. The page explores the range of possibilities.

Using the Wrong Word

A study of the different reasons that writers occasionally use the wrong word.

No Comma in Nonrestrictive Element

A study of the punctuation practices and traditional regarding nonrestrictive modification in phrases and clauses.

Wrong or Missing Inflected Endings

Focusing on the origins of problems with inflectional word endings.

Wrong or Missing Preposition

Discussing problems with prepositions, including the "never end a sentence with a preposition" issue.

Comma Splice

A look at the origins and solutions of the comma splice (sometimes called the comma fault).

Possessive Apostrophe Error / Genitive Case

A detailed study into the use of the possessive apostrophe to mark the genitive case. This page uses corpus data to study the trends in both American and British English.

Tense Shift

Discussing the origins of this usage issue in spoken and written English.

Unnecessary Shift in Person

Also known as the point of view (POV) shifts. Describing the notions of person and point of view in spoken and written English and how speakers and writers will make unnecessary/confusing changes in person.

Sentence Fragments

Discussing the origins of sentence fragments and their acceptable and unacceptable uses.

Wrong Tense or Verb Form

Looking at why some verb inflection become unacceptable uses in some contexts.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Puzzling through issues matching singular and plural subjects and verbs. Also known as subject-verb concord.

Lack of Comma in a Series (Oxford Comma)

Using the last comma in a series, also known as the "Oxford" or the "Harvard" comma.

Pronoun Agreement Error

Explaining why singular and plural pronouns sometimes become a usage problem.

Unnecessary Comma with Restrictive Element

Revisiting punctuation practices with modifiers that restrict the reference of the modified head.

Run-on or fused sentence

Examining another sentence boundary punctuation problem, similar to the comma splice.

Dangling or Misplaced Modifier

Explaining why sometimes writers are not modifying what they think they are modifying.  Often to humorous effect. Explaining too why some dangling modifiers are perfectly acceptable.

Confusing it's and its

Exploring some of the issues surrounding this commonly confused pair of words.

Joseph Conrad’s Style in Heart of Darkness: A Linguistic Analysis

A study of lexical and grammatical patterns in Conrad's novella.

Three Principles Underlying Iconicity in Literature: The Poetics of Nonsense in Children's and General Literature

By examining phonetic and syntactic iconicity (onomatopoeia) and by studying the underlying principles governing iconicity, one can see a direct relationship between the linguistic/semiotic codes in language and the readers' responses to both children's and general literature.

The Sounds of Poetry: Part 1

Part one of a guest lecture I gave in Freyda Libman and Alan Carter's English 1152, Poetry, course. This lecture discusses many of the topics covered in Three Principles Underlying Iconicity in Literature. The lecture is in .mp3 format. This part runs 30 minutes.

The Sounds of Poetry: Part 2

Part two of the guest lecture. Also in .mp3 format and runs just under 30 minutes.

The Uses of Passivity: Suppressing Agency in Nineteen Eighty-Four

A study of how George Orwell controls theme and mood through a carefully constructed grammatical pattern controlling the semantic property of agency.

Making Meaning through Grammar: "This Bread I Break" by Dylan Thomas

A study of how grammar, lexis, and phonology combine to make meaning in Dylan Thomas' poem.

What is Literature?

A look at one example of register variation in language.

The Representation of Speech and Thought in Literature

Notes on how writers use grammatical patterns to create a gradient of narrative styles in literature.

Contemporary English Usage: Style and Usage Issues in Modern English (in development)

Describing and explaining some of the common grammar and usage problems, including punctuation, agreement, case errors, sentence structure errors, and more, with advice for finding, editing, and preventing errors.

Evaluating Grammar Checkers

Comparing the grammar checking abilities of two popular word processors — Corel's WordPerfect and Microsoft's Word. Can those programs find twenty common usage errors?

Indeterminacy in Sentence Structure

A study of the discourse functions served by thematic organization and information focus in the prose of college writers, originally published in Linguistics and Education 2, 231-258 (1990).

Adverbial but

A study of the syntactic and semantic changes in the usage of the word. A study in gradience, originally published in The Twentieth LACUS Forum 1993, Lake Bluff, IL: Jupiter Press, 1994, pp. 315-332.

The Principle of Compensating Complexity

An argument in favor of a linguistic principle suggesting that, as languages change over time, simiplification in one system will generate compensating complexity in another system so that the semantic potential of the whole language remains stable. Originally prepared for the Thirteenth International Systemic Congress, Canterbury, England, July 17, 1986.

Hearing Voices: On the Mismatch between Perception and Reality in U.S. Attitudes Toward English as a Global Language

A paper originally presented as a plenary lecture for the International TESOL-ELT Conference at Moscow City Pedagogical University, Samara, Russia, 6 May 2002.

The Ebonics Debate

Read what professional linguists and educators are saying about this recent version of an old debate.

What Should English Teachers Teach and Why?

Several professors of English discuss, quite specifically, the issues surrounding the teaching of English grammar: what should be taught, why and how. An interesting informal discussion from the Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar email list.

Language Development in Children

Originally published in 1991 in an introductory linguistics textbook, my chapter on child language acquisition presents an overview of language development from the cradle to adulthood. I present this here since many students of modern English grammar are also interested in questions about the development of grammatical structures. Although now out of date, this chapter may still provide some background to this area of study.