A New Approach to English Grammar, on Semantic Principles

Download or read book A New Approach to English Grammar, on Semantic Principles written by Robert M. W. Dixon and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work offers a fresh approach to grammar, arguing that a speaker "codes" a meaning into grammatical forms in order to communicate them to a hearer. Investigating the interrelation of grammar and meaning, Dixon uncovers a rationale for the varying grammatical properties of different words. He offers a review of some of the main points of English syntax, as well as a discussion of English verbs in terms of semantic types. Finally, he examines five specific grammatical topics: complement clauses in detail; complement clauses, transitivity and causatives; passive construction; promotion of a non-subject to subject slot; and the relation between verb constructions.