Includes bibliographical references

Part 1 A guide to the use of this book: Introduction; The way this book is organized; Varieties of English; Grammar in spoken and written English; Intonation; A note on phonetic symbols; Geographical and national varieties; Levels of usage: formal and informal English. Part 2 Grammar in Use: Section A - Concepts; Referring to objects, substances and materials; Concrete and abstract; Amount or quantity; Definite and indefinite meaning; Relations between ideas expressed by nouns; Restrictive and non-restrictive meaning; Time, tense and aspect - Present time, Past time, The progressive aspect, Future time; Time-when; Duration; Frequency; Place, direction and distance; Manner, means and instrument; Cause, reason and purpose; Condition and contrast; Degree; Role, standard and viewpoint; Comparison; Addition, exception and restriction; Subject matter: about and on; Section B - Information, reality and belief; Statements, questions and responses; Omission of information; Reported statements and questions; Denial and affirmation; Agreement and disagreement; Fact, hypothesis and neutrality; Degrees of likelihood; Attitudes to truth; Section C - Mood, emotion and attitude; Emotive emphasis in speech; Describing emotions; Volition; Permission and obligation; Influencing people; Friendly communications; Vocatives; Section D - Meanings in connected discourse; Linking, signals; Linking clauses and sentences; General purpose links; Cross-reference and omission; Presenting and focusing information; Order and emphasis.

Since the publication of the first edition in 1975, the communicative approach has established itself as an efficient and popular method for teaming foreign languages. During this time, A Communicative Grammar of English has established itself as an innovative grammar and a successful text. It is now brought fully up-to-date by this second edition which is fully revised and redesigned for accessible usage. It is divided into three parts, the main part being devoted to the uses of grammar rather than grammatical structure. It looks at the different variety labels such as 'formal' and 'informal' and 'spoken' and 'written'. It also includes an alphabetically arranged guide to grammatical terms. Key Features: includes more examples, most of which are taken from corpuses, both written and spoken; gives increased emphasis to spoken English providing a better balance between written and spoken English. Explanations are simple and easy to understand and clear distinctions are made between major and minor points; makes the subject more accessible and accessible to the learner; refers to relevant sections in the authoritative Comprehensive Grammar of the English language, also by the authors with Sir Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum. Readership: Level: First year undergraduate students and advanced learners of English. Course: English and teacher training courses.