The preposition is of particular interest to syntacticians, historians and sociolinguists of English, as its placement within a sentence is influenced by syntactic and sociolinguistic constraints, and by how the 'rules' regarding prepositions have changed over time, as a result of language change, of change in attitudes towards language, and of processes such as standardization. This book investigates preposition placement in the early and late Modern English periods (1500-1900), with a special focus on preposition stranding (The house which I live in) in opposition to pied piping (The house in which I live). Based on a large-scale analysis of precept and usage data, this study reassesses the alleged influence of late eighteenth-century normative works on language usage. It also sheds new light on the origins of the stigmatisation of preposition stranding. This study will be of interest to scholars working on syntax and grammar, corpus linguistics, historical linguistics and sociolinguistics.

This detailed, corpus-based study shows how the placement and usage of the English preposition has changed since the sixteenth century.

The preposition is of particular interest to syntacticians, historians and sociolinguists of English, as its placement within a sentence is influenced by syntactic and sociolinguistic constraints, and by how the 'rules' regarding prepositions have changed over time, as a result of language change, of change in attitudes towards language, and of processes such as standardization. This book investigates preposition placement in the early and late Modern English periods (1500-1900), with a special focus on preposition stranding (The house which I live in) in opposition to pied piping (The house in which I live). Based on a large-scale analysis of precept and usage data, this study reassesses the alleged influence of late eighteenth-century normative works on language usage. It also sheds new light on the origins of the stigmatisation of preposition stranding. This study will be of interest to scholars working on syntax and grammar, corpus linguistics, historical linguistics and sociolinguistics.

Explains grammar and rhetoric, using numerous amusing examples. How to write student papers.

Medieval Grammar and Rhetoric: Language Arts and Literary Theory, AD 300-1475 demonstrates comprehensively the role of the medieval arts of language in the history of literary theory. This book brings together essential sources in the disciplines of grammar and rhetoric, materials that were instrumental for understanding literary form and composing in prose or verse. Grammar and rhetoric, the language sciences, were the basis of any education from antiquity through the Middle Ages, no matter what future career a student was going to pursue. Because literature itself was a key subject matter of grammatical teaching, and because rhetorical teaching focused on literary form, these were the disciplines that prepared students to interpret all kinds of texts. These arts constituted the abiding theoretical toolbox for anyone engaged in a life of letters.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1875.

Rhetorical Grammar encourages writers to recognize and use the structural and stylistic choices available to them and to understand the rhetorical effects those choices can have on their readers. Rhetorical Grammar is a writer's grammar - a text that presents grammar as a rhetorical tool, avoiding the do's and don'ts so long associated with the study of grammar. It reveals to student writers the system of grammar that they know subconsciously and encourages them to use that knowledge to understand their choices as writers and the effects of those choices on their readers. Besides providing key strategies for revision, Rhetorical Grammar presents systematic discussions of reader expectation, sentence rhythm and cohesion, subordination and coordination, punctuation, modifiers, diction, and other principles. Studying grammar from this rhetorical point of view defines the study of language as an intellectual exercise designed to open up students' minds to the versatility, beauty, and possibilities of language.