F. R. Palmer (1922–2019)

Grammar, as most people understand it, means tenses, cases, genders, declensions and so on, taught at school but almost invariably forgotten, without apparent loss to our faculties. What we have learnt is English systematically forced into the formal categories of Latin, which it will not bend to. Hence 'between you and me' will remain 'correct' long after 'between you and I' has become the common expression. However, in modern linguistics grammar means much more than this–it means precise show more and scientific description of the structure of language. In this lucid account Professor Palmer takes the reader simply and clearly through the concepts of traditional grammar, morphology, sentence structure and transformational-generative grammar. show less

A still useful study of the structure of the English verb. English teachers who have to teach grammar, but only know old-fashioned books like the Century Handbook or even the Harbrace, will find this very helpful in presenting the complexities of English verb to their students. And, no, verbs are not merely action words.

Semantics

Linguistics