The LanguageLab Library - Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English

and WRITTEN
E N G L I S H
Susan Conrad
Douglas Biber
Geoffrey Leech
Pearson EducationLimited
Edinburgh Gate
Harlow
Essex CM2O2lE
England
and Associated Companiesthroughout the World.
Visit our website: http://www.longman.com/dictionaries
O Pearson EducationLimited 2002
The rights of Susan Conrad, DouglasBiber, and Geoffrey Leechto be
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All rights resewed; no part of fhispublication m y be reproduced,
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the prior written permission of the Publishers.
First published 2002
Third Impression 2003
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ISBN0 582 539420
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Printedin Great Britain byAshford Colowr Press Ltd, Gosport, Hampshire.
Contents
Introduction 4
1 A discourse perspectiveon grammar 7
2 Words andword classes 11
3 Introduction to phrasesand clauses 17
4 Nouns, pronouns, and the simple noun phrase 21
5 Verbs 29
6 Variation in the verb phrase: tense, aspect, voice, and modal use 39
7 Adjectives and adverbs 48
8 Exploringthe grammar of the clause 57
9 Complex noun phrases
10 Verb and adjectivecomplement clauses
11 Adverbials
12 Word order choices
13' The grammar ofconversation
Answers
Introduction
To the student
We designedthis Workbook to give you practice in analyzingEnglish grammar and
understanding how it works in real communication.The Workbook differs from other
grammar textbooks known to us in its exclusive focus on how English is actually used. All
examples in the exercisesare taken from naturally occurring Englishtexts and
conversations, rather than being invented, idealized language.
Advantages of this Workbook
The focus on real language has three advantages.
First, authentic instancesof how people really use the language are more interesting
than made-upsentences. They can even be fun! It is often entertaining to see what
people actually say and write.
Second, analyzingauthentic examples will give you the tools you need as English
language students and professionals.Authentic pieces of Englishcan be messy, and
less 'tidy' than made-upsentences. But a book with made-upsentences would not
have preparedyou to understand the use of grammar in natural settings. For example,
if you become an English teacher, your students will ask you to explain the grammar of
real language use: sentences in their essays, or snatches they heard on the radio or
read in a newspaper. Also, during the rest of your time as a student, it is likely that you
will be surrounded by authentic English: in conversations, lectures, textbooks,
newspapers, and so on. This Workbookwill give you the practiceand tools needed to
analyzethe grammaticalstructure of the language around you.
Third, in our focus on authentic language we explicitly contrast the grammar of spoken
and written English. You will quickly discover that the typical grammatical
constructions of conversationare very different from those found in academic writing.
You will probably be especially surprised by the grammar of conversation: rather than
consisting of simple one-clausesentences (as you might imagine from some
textbooks), you will find that conversationregularly makes use of complex-seeming
structures with many kinds of embedding, as well as a generous sprinkling of ultra-
simple structures which have no verb and contain only one or two words. In contrast,
written texts build up their complexity with longer phrases, with much embedding of
one phrase in another. By examiningand contrasting the grammar of these different
kinds of language, you will gain the expertise and insight neededto apply your
knowledge in real communication.
Usingthe Workbook
The Workbook is designedto be used together with the LongmanStudent Grammarof
Spoken and WrittenEnglish (SGSWE). There are thirteen chapters in SGSWE,and each
chapter is divided into manageable sections called 'grammar bites'. We have used this
same organization in the Workbook, providingexercisesfor each of the grammar bites in
SGSWE. In addition, we provide 'synthesis' exercisesat the end of each chapter, to help
you integrate a range of related topics and skills covered in the different grammar bites.
The synthesistasks often involve more extended pieces of written or spoken language.
In addition, many chaptersend with a set of sentences for additional practice, or
di...