A Students Grammar of the English Language is a shorter and revised version of A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, the widely acclaimed definitive grammar of modern English on which the authors worked in collaboration with Geoffrey Leech and Jan Svartvik.


The structure of the parent book has been preserved so that reference to it can easily be made, but this version takes particular account of the needs of students who require depth of treatment and also clear presentation with detailed exemplification. A Students Grammar of the English Language draws on the most recent research, including new findings not only in grammar but also in the neighbouring fields of semantics, pragmatics, and text linguistics. Discourse features are dealt with throughout, as well as being the theme of a major chapter entitled: "From Sentence to Text".


The authors are careful to point out those features of grammar which distinguish spoken from written, formal from informal, and British from American English.


A Students Grammar of the English Language will be a standard work an indispensable text book for all those who need an advanced and authoritative description of contemporary English.