1.Basic Concepts 2. The Skeleton of the Message: Introduction to Clause Structure 3. The Development of the Message: Complementation of the Verb 4. Interaction between Speaker and Hearer: Linking Speech Acts and Grammar 5. Conceptualising Patterns of Experience: Processes,Participants, Circumstances 6. Organising the Message: Thematic and information structures of the clause 7. Combining Clauses into Sentences 8. Talking about Events: The verbal group 9. Viewpoints on Events: Tense, aspect and modality 10. Talking about People and Things: The nominal group 11. Describing Persons, Things and Circumstances: Adjectival and adverbial groups 12. Spatial, Temporal and other Relationships: The prepositional phrase
Biography
Angela Downing is Professor Emeritus at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. She was General Editor of Atlantis (Journal of the Spanish Association of English and American Studies) from 2006 to 2012 and has published numerous articles on grammar and discourse.
'Downing's comprehensive yet accessible book builds on traditional descriptions of English to present a functional orientation to grammar as a set of communicative resources. Taking the grammar off the page and into real life, this book illustrates how language operates across a range of different uses and contexts. An invaluable resource for all university studens of English.' Tom Bartlett, Cardiff University, UK
'Offer[s] an excellent basic framework for a really usable course book at the highest level of English language study.' Mike Hannay, Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
