Homson-Heinle, 1993. - 171 p.This book appeared in its first edition 30 years ago, from an academic rather than a language teaching publisher. It was a landmark of its time, and praise was lavished upon it by many, if not most, contemporary grammarians.
This new, revised edition retains all the insight and clarity of the original text, but has been slightly up-dated in terms of content and re-designed to make the book easier to read.
It is unusual among grammar books, in that it has been written so that, rather than being used only for reference, its chapters can be read. Each chapter represents a coherent, and developing argument, exemplified by reference to an enormous number of examples. For native speakers of English, it provides an invaluable and clear insight into the way of looking at English which is essential if the material is to be presented to someone whose native language is not English. Native speakers simply do not think of the Primary Distinctions which the author introduces in chapter 2, but it is these distinctions which underlie many of the grammatical choices which are intrinsic to English. For the non-native speaker, the book provides a wealth of detailed information and examples, but more importantly demonstrates some of the hierarchically more important distinctions of English, and shows how these fundamental distinctions re-occur in different disguises in quite different parts of the grammatical system. The author constantly has in mind the importance of a coherent over-view of grammar.
