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Real Grammar: A Corpus-Based Approach to English
An innovative corpus-based grammar text, Real Grammar uses the latest corpus research to show how 50 grammatical structures and expressions are used in speech and writing. This focus on authentic usage motivates students to move past traditional grammar texts and use English more like native speakers. Real Grammar is an essential tool for students to study English as it is used in the real world of conversation, fi ction, newspaper, and academic writing. Fifty independent units provide total fl exibility, allowing the text to fit any curriculum Rich activities, varying from contextualised exercises to discovery and analysis, help learners understand and use the target grammar.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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About the author
Susan Conrad
11 booksThere are more than one author with this name
As a Professor of Applied Linguistics at Portland State University, she investigates English grammar and discourse, often with "corpus linguistics" tools (computer-assisted analysis techniques for studying language). Her research investigates how people vary their grammar, vocabulary, and organization to fulfill different purposes and meet different audience's expectations. She is especially interested in the writing of different disciplines. As the principal investigator for the Civil Engineering Writing Project , she collaborates with engineering faculty and practitioners to help new civil engineers write more effectively. To study and teach academic writing, students work with her in compiling the PSU Corpus of Student Academic Writing .
She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in applied linguistics and train teachers of English as a second/foreign language. She has taught ESL/EFL in the United States, South Korea and Lesotho (southern Africa), and has conducted teacher-training seminars in many countries, including Thailand, Taiwan, Argentina, Chile and Italy. Using her grammar and discourse expertise, she occasionally acts as a consultant for attorneys on legal cases involving language in contracts, regulations, and other documents.
As a Professor of Applied Linguistics at Portland State University, she investigates English grammar and discourse, often with "corpus linguistics" tools (computer-assisted analysis techniques for studying language). Her research investigates how people vary their grammar, vocabulary, and organization to fulfill different purposes and meet different audience's expectations. She is especially interested in the writing of different disciplines. As the principal investigator for the Civil Engineering Writing Project , she collaborates with engineering faculty and practitioners to help new civil engineers write more effectively. To study and teach academic writing, students work with her in compiling the PSU Corpus of Student Academic Writing .
She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in applied linguistics and train teachers of English as a second/foreign language. She has taught ESL/EFL in the United States, South Korea and Lesotho (southern Africa), and has conducted teacher-training seminars in many countries, including Thailand, Taiwan, Argentina, Chile and Italy. Using her grammar and discourse expertise, she occasionally acts as a consultant for attorneys on legal cases involving language in contracts, regulations, and other documents.
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December 19, 2024
Real Grammar is advertised by the authors as "A New Kind of Grammar Book", and based on the 2009 timeframe when this book was published, I'd say the claim has some merit. Real Grammar is intended as a supplement, not as a full-fledged grammar; the info it provides is meant to benefit users and learners of English by examining grammatical patterns that corpus analyses show to be common in actual English usage.
This is a thin book, highly structured in format: each of the 50 topics is given exactly three pages of coverage. The topics vary considerably in difficulty, and some sections are covered quite tersely. Ultimately, however, I found the presentation effective.
Those who have studied linguistics may find some of the terminology to be more simplified than they expect; this may be intentional to keep the book broadly accessible. Even so, by taking a corpus-driven approach, this book wanders onto the surface of some substantial linguistic topics. For instance, while care is taken to name structures using traditional parts of speech, one may begin to question whether English is best described in this traditional manner; this skepticism can lead to deeper inquiries that have interesting answers. Another example: it is noted that certain words or expressions are often used non-literally. There's quite a rabbit hole awaiting someone curious about how and why these non-literal meanings arise (metaphorical extension, grammaticalization, shell nouns, and so on). Unfortunately this book does not generally provide references for further reading, with the exception of Longman's English grammars (the 1999 full edition and the 2002 student edition).
While I wouldn't recommend Real Grammar to everyone, I believe there are individuals who will find it appealing. I imagine it could be a useful book for ESL learners; as I read the book, it reminded me somewhat of the Makino & Tsutsui "grammar dictionaries" for Japanese. I'm glad to have this book on hand as a reference, and will likely keep it around until I find a book or an online resource that better fits this particular niche.
This is a thin book, highly structured in format: each of the 50 topics is given exactly three pages of coverage. The topics vary considerably in difficulty, and some sections are covered quite tersely. Ultimately, however, I found the presentation effective.
Those who have studied linguistics may find some of the terminology to be more simplified than they expect; this may be intentional to keep the book broadly accessible. Even so, by taking a corpus-driven approach, this book wanders onto the surface of some substantial linguistic topics. For instance, while care is taken to name structures using traditional parts of speech, one may begin to question whether English is best described in this traditional manner; this skepticism can lead to deeper inquiries that have interesting answers. Another example: it is noted that certain words or expressions are often used non-literally. There's quite a rabbit hole awaiting someone curious about how and why these non-literal meanings arise (metaphorical extension, grammaticalization, shell nouns, and so on). Unfortunately this book does not generally provide references for further reading, with the exception of Longman's English grammars (the 1999 full edition and the 2002 student edition).
While I wouldn't recommend Real Grammar to everyone, I believe there are individuals who will find it appealing. I imagine it could be a useful book for ESL learners; as I read the book, it reminded me somewhat of the Makino & Tsutsui "grammar dictionaries" for Japanese. I'm glad to have this book on hand as a reference, and will likely keep it around until I find a book or an online resource that better fits this particular niche.
Displaying 1 of 1 review