English 321, 003: English Grammar and Usage

(2010-11, Fall Term)

Time: TuTh 11—12:30

Place: Math 203

Instructor Laurel Brinton

Office: Buchanan Tower 617

Office Telephone: (604) 822—4461

Office Hours: Tu 3:15—4:45, Fr. 12:30—2 and by appointment

Email: brinton@interchange.ubc.ca

Teaching Assistant: Geoffrey Roeder

Email: roeder@interchange.ubc.ca

Course Description:

In this course, we will undertake an analysis of Modern English structure using the methods of traditional grammar. Topics studied will include parts of speech; grammatical functions; phrase, clause, and sentence types; and nominal and verbal categories.

We will briefly examine the history of traditional grammar, focusing on its codification in prescriptive rules of usage in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Attention will be paid to the nature and usefulness of these rules and to their formulation in contemporary usage manuals.

In addition to giving students a thorough grounding in English traditional grammar, the course shows how modern theories of linguistics owe not only their terminology, but much of their conceptual framework to this most influential descriptive model of English grammar.

Pre-requisites: 6 credits of first-year ENGL, ARTS, ASTU, or FDNS and third-year standing No special pre-requisites are required.

Course materials:

James R. Hurford, Grammar: A Student's Guide (Cambridge University Press, 1994)

Recommended: Geoffrey Leech, A Glossary of English Grammar (Edinburgh University Press, 2006).

Available on Vista website (Vista):

Lecture notes

Self-testing exercises and answers

Usage readings

Course evaluation

one midterm test 30%

one written project 30%

final examination 40%

Self-testing exercises are provided with answer keys. In order to learn to use the analytical tools of traditional grammar and understand the concepts students must be prepared to do the self-testing exercises as they are assigned

Important dates

Sept. 24- Last day to withdraw without a 'W'

Oct. 15 - Last day to withdraw with a 'W'

Nov. 11 – Remembrance Day, no class

TENTATIVE SYLLABUS ENGLISH 321 – 2010W – Fall term

Sept. 7 IMAGINE UBC – no class

Sept. 9 introduction: overview or course

Nature and assumptions of traditional

grammar

Prescriptive vs. descriptive

Oct. 26 phrases

prepositional

Oct. 28 Discussion of writing assignment

How to do a corpus search

EXERCISES 4, 5, 6

Sept. 14 backgrounds of traditional grammar

Sept. 16 grammars and usage guides

"language myths"

Double negatives are illogical.

Say "It is I", not "It is me"!

Don't end a sentence with a preposition!

Readings: Algeo, Chesire, Bauer

EXERCISE 11, "Which is it?"

Nov. 2 clauses

nominal clauses

Nov. 4 clauses

adjectival clauses

Sept. 21 sentence types & part of speech

nouns

Sept. 23 part of speech

verbs

EXERCISE 1 (noun, verb)

Nov. 9 clauses

adverbial

Nov. 11 Remembrance Day

Exercise 7

Sept. 28 part of speech

adjectives and adverbs

Sept. 23 part of speech

pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions

EXERCISE 1 (pronoun, adjective, adverb)

Nov. 16 grammatical categories

person, gender, case

Nov. 18 grammatical categories

case (cont'd), number, degree

EXERCISE 9

Oct. 5 functions

subject, object

Oct. 7 functions

complement, modifier

Nov. 23 grammatical categories

tense, aspect

Nov. 25 grammatical categories

aspect (cont'd), mood

Oct. 12 functions

other functions

Oct. 14 MIDTERM EXAM

EXERCISES 2 and 3

Nov. 30 grammatical categories & parsing

voice

Dec. 2 parsing

PAPER DUE

EXERCISE 8, 10, Parsing Exercises

Oct. 19 phrases

infinitives

Oct. 21 phrases

participles, gerunds

Dec. Examination Period (Dec. 7 – Dec. 21):

FINAL EXAM

Exercises from Friend

on Parts of Speech: 11 (first half), 17 (first half), 24 (first half), 25, 26, 28, 31, 38, 39	on Grammatical Categories: 11 (second half), 18, 21, 22, 24 (second half), 27
on Functions: 1, 16	on Phrases: 17 (second half), 24, 37
on Clauses: 7, 8, 9, 10, 33	on Sentences: 6

Relevant entries in Hurford, Grammar: A Student’s Guide

Parts of Speech