Essentials of English Grammar

by Otto Jespersen

A classic of English grammar, Essentials of English Grammar provides a common ground for the traditionalist and the structural or descriptive linguist. Jespersen’s work provides insight into the fundamental concepts that underlie the linguistic approach, but at the same time the foundation of the traditional approach is retained.

Genres: Linguistics

392 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1933

About the author

Jens Otto Harry Jespersen was a Danish linguist who worked in foreign-language pedagogy, historical phonetics, and other areas, but is best known for his description of the grammar of the English language.

Jespersen was a professor of English at the University of Copenhagen from 1893 to his retirement in 1925. Jespersen was Dean of the Faculty of Arts from November 1904 to November 1906; and Rector (vice-chancellor, or president) of the university from November 1920 to November 1921.

Reviews

[Valerie]

I'm pretty sure this is not the edition I read, but I would be at a loss to say exactly which edition I DID read.

This is a very hard book to get through. Jespersen doesn't spare his readers, and it would be a mistake to approach the work without a very thorough grounding in the history and structure of the English language.

With that background, the book still isn't easy reading. But it's the most thorough grounding in English grammatical and phonetic principles available, and repays the effort.

But it would probably be more useful as a reference than to read right through, which is often the case with dictionaries and grammars.