This groundbreaking undergraduate textbook on modem Standard English grammar is the first to be based on the revolutionary advances of the authors' previous work, The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (2002), winner of the 2004 Leonard Bloomfield Book Award of the Linguistic Society of America. The analyses defended there are outlined here more briefly, in an engagingly accessible and informal style. Errors of the older tradition of English grammar are noted and corrected, and the excesses of prescriptive usage manuals are firmly rebutted in specially highlighted notes that explain what older authorities have called 'incorrect' and show why those authorities are mistaken.

This book is intended for students in colleges or universities who have little or no previous background in grammar, and presupposes no linguistics. It contains exercises and a wealth of other features, and will provide a basis for introductions to grammar and courses on the structure of English not only in linguistics departments but also in English language and literature departments and schools of education. Students will achieve an accurate understanding of grammar that will both enhance their language skills and provide a solid grounding for further linguistic study.