Grammar and Its Reasons: For Students and Teachers of the English Tongue

by Mary Hall Leonard

Explore the living, evolving side of English grammar. This book offers a fresh, essay-style look at present-day English grammar, not a traditional lesson book. It surveys how grammar relates to other language study, why English changes over time, and how ideas about grammar arise from real language use.


Written for teachers, students preparing to teach English, and general readers with an interest in language, it aims to illuminate difficult parts of grammar with clear explanations and the reasons behind usage. The work gathers thoughtful passages from a range of sources, showing how grammars have been treated in different ages and by different writers, while remaining focused on the English tongue.



Learn how English grammar has developed since the invention of printing and why forms change over time.
See how grammar relates to other fields of language study and why that connection matters in teaching and learning.
Explore the idea that grammar can be studied as a science, with practical discussions rooted in actual usage.
Discover how quotations and historical perspectives illuminate modern questions about English.

Ideal for readers who study or teach grammar, as well as curious readers who want a broad, accessible view of how English works today.

Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2018

Reviews

[Sigo Paolini]

Her final chapters are pretty good but it's a long hard slog to get there. She has a great bibliography, of course for 120 years ago, and as I mentioned excellent excerpts from many grammar books on the various topics including a great poem. I was recommended this by my old editor, MR is 90,and it was interesting to see the development though of course from the turn of centry 20th to now would be another good book, if only it was out there.