An Introduction to English Sentence Structure

by Andrew Radford

This outstanding resource for students offers a step-by-step, practical introduction to English syntax and syntactic principles, as developed by Chomsky over the past 15 years. Assuming little or no prior background in syntax, Andrew Radford outlines the core concepts and how they can be used to describe various aspects of English sentence structure. This is an abridged version of Radford's major new textbook Analysing English Sentences (also published by Cambridge University Press), and will be welcomed as a handy introduction to current syntactic theory.

Genres: Linguistics, Nonfiction

456 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[tryitonotis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reviewer found certain parts in this book illogical.

I disagree. This book has been nothing but logical in its progression into the depth of English sentence structures and Universal Grammar principles.

Some examples might be tiresomely described but prove most welcoming when you return to the book after not continuing reading it for a period of time. In this regard, the glossary makes a great reference tool too.

Just a shame there are typological and grammatical errors here and there, but nothing too distracting from the wealth of knowledge within this book.

Highly recommended for those interested in X-bar theory, Universal Grammar, and English syntax and grammar in general. Not light reading unless you’ve always been itching to know why certain rules are observed in English language but not others e.g. why “I’d’ve” would be frowned upon by the pedantic.

[Xiaozhen · Rating 2 out of 5]

eh a lot of illogical parts. guess maybe the field is too much of a niche.

[Yabbasi381gmail.Com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good