English Grammar (distance)

This course aims to provide students with a solid foundation in the grammar of English, prominently including the ways in which it interfaces with, and is often motivated by, meaning (semantics-pragmatics). Using a fairly standard textbook (see below), we will go through the main areas and aspects of English grammar (word classes, grammatical functions, complementation, etc.). However, where many traditional courses in English grammar (and the textbook we use as well) would discuss these only or mainly in terms of their structural aspects, we will go beyond that by showing how an appreciation of their meaning adds to our understanding. In the process, sometimes long-established definitions turn out to need to be re-assessed in so-called ‘functional’ or ‘cognitive’ terms. We conclude the module by considering how this modern ‘cognitive’ approach might also enrich traditional teaching methods.