Daniel Kies Department of English College of DuPage |
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Modern English Grammar English 2126 |
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Friday4 to 5:30 pm
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4 to 6:30 pm
12:30 to 2:30 pm
8 to 10 am
[Friday & other times by appointment] [by appointment only]
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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% Grading of each test is based on percentages indicated in the adjacent table.
- weekly tests during the term,
- a final examination, and
- a term project.
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: IntroductionReading
- MEG
- Usage
- The Sentence
Answer key (.pdf file password required) Practice Quizzes:
- Greenbaum, chaps. 1 and 2.
- All the pages in this HyperTextBook listed under General Information about this Course on the Table of Contents
- Exploring which "rules" are prescriptive? which descriptive?:
- Quiz: prescriptive or descriptive?
Week 2
Topic: The Structure of Clauses, Part 1
Reading:Answer key (.pdf file password required) Practice Quizzes:
- Greenbaum, chap 3.
- The Clause in English
- 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
ReadingAnswer key (.pdf file password required) Practice Quizzes
- Greenbaum, chap 3.
- The Clause in English
- 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
ReadingAnswer key (.pdf file password required) Practice Quizzes
- Greenbaum, chap 4.
- The Phrase in English
Week 5
Topic: The Structure of Phrases, Part 2
ReadingAnswer key (.pdf file password required) Practice Quizzes
- Greenbaum, chap 4.
- The Phrase in English
- 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
ReadingAnswer key (.pdf file password required) Summary (.pdf file password required) Practice Quizzes
- Greenbaum, chap 5.
- The Structure of Words and Word Classes in English
Week 7
Topic: Linking Clauses, Part 1
Reading
- Greenbaum, chap 6.
- Coordination and Subordination
Answer key: (.pdf file password required) Practice Quizzes
- Coordination
Week 8
Topic: Linking Clauses, Part 2Reading
- Subordination
Answer key (.pdf file password required) Practice Quizzes
- Greenbaum, chap 6.
- 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
ReadingAnswer key (.pdf file password required)
- Greenbaum, chap 7.
- A Handbook of Selected Punctuation Marks
Week 10
Topic: Usage Problems, Part 1Reading
- Subject - Verb Agreement
- Pronoun Agreement
- Auxiliary Verbs
Answer key (.pdf file password required)
- Greenbaum, chap 8.
- Usage Issues in Modern English Grammar
Spring Break
Week 11
Topic: Usage Problems, Part 2Reading
- Case
- Confusion of Adjectives and Adverbs
Answer key (.pdf file password required) Practice Quiz
- Greenbaum, chap 8.
- Evaluating Grammar Checkers
- Test your ability to recognize the 20 common usage issues in first-year university writing:
- Twenty Common Usage Problems
Week 13
Topic: Style , Part 2Reading
- Cohesion
- Coherence
- Unity
- Greenbaum, chap 9.
- The Grammatical Foundation of Style
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:
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