... definitions, so we have many English grammars (or grammar books),
which vary in their coverage and their accuracy. The largest English dictionary
is the scholarly twenty-volume OxfordEnglish Dictionary, ... (1.7-10)
Standard English 14
Variation In standard English 15
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.9
1.10
The spread of English in second-
language countries 8
English pidgins and
English as an international
language 12
Correct English ... 16
Good English 17
Chapter 2
The Scope and Nature of
Grammar
Summary
What is grammar? (2.1-3)
2.1 Types of grammar books 23 2.3 Theories of grammar 25
2.2 Descriptive and prescriptive
grammar...
... main meaning of can is be able to:
Can
you swim? =Are
you able to swim?
I can
speak English. = I am able to speak English.
Dave can
ride a bike. = Dave is able to ride a bike.
Note that:
1 can doesn’t ... 48 – ‘what if . . .?’
In Language point 41 we saw how the
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
is
often used in English to mean the
FUTURE
. Sometimes we use the
PRESENT SIMPLE
in the same way, as for example ... – the first one has been
done for you.
1 Julie can swim. Julie is able to swim.
2 Can they speak English? _________________ ?
3 Dave isn’t able to come. _________________ .
4 Can you see the screen?...
... and now I’m leaving!
9 This place has changed a lot ____ we were here last.
10 I’ve been learning English ____ a long time.
Exercise 5
Choose the correct verb from the brackets for each sentence ... Fiona since yesterday.
6 (Have you been/Are you) waiting here long?
7 I (learn/’ve been learning) English for five years.
8 The kids (are/have been) playing football since ten o’clock.
Dialogue 4 ... over
from Denmark to visit.
N
IELS
: Do you remember when I came over to visit last year?
D
AVE
: Of course I do! You arrived in the evening after
coming over on the ferry and driving straight here.
When...
... nothing happens to it.
(i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 15 3/16/09 12:33:55 PM
14 Noun Phrases
Of course the possessive forms of nouns can signal many things besides ownership. Often we use
the ... is a component of the computer.
In this section, however, we are going to focus solely on how English forms the possessive.
Before Shakespeare’s time the possessive form of nouns was spelled...
... a new coat of paint.
6. They had a big victory despite all the odds.
7. A new painting by the English painter Turner has just been discovered.
8. I had no illusions about my chances.
9. The...
... is human, to forgive is divine.
Infi nitive phrases differ from gerund phrases in one respect. English speakers often prefer to
move longer infi nitive phrases to the end of the sentence, putting ... nitives with or without modi-
fi ers and/or complements. Infi nitive phrases can play three of the basic four noun roles: subjects,
objects of verbs, and predicate nominatives. Unlike gerund phrases,...
... alike both inverted with the subjects.)
There is no standard name in traditional grammar for the verbs in modern English that can
be inverted to form yes-no questions. The verbs that can be inverted ... is then inverted with the subject just like any other auxiliary verb.
This dummy verb, is, of course, the verb do. Here are some examples using this dummy auxiliary
verb.
Let’s start with ... verb is the actual
historical source of the do used in yes-no questions and negatives in modern English. )
This intermediate sentence now contains an auxiliary verb that can be inverted in the...