The aim of this book, first published in 1979, is to provide a sound basic introduction to the study of grammar within linguistics. The work concentrates primarily on the core of grammatical theory rather than a single narrow theoretical viewpoint. After introductory chapters on the study of language and language as a semiotic system, the precise tasks of grammatical theory are clearly outlined. The aims and problems of generative grammar are then described, and the importance of grammatical analysis is highlighted. The central part of the book is devoted to the fundamental questions of syntactic theory and a detailed study of morphology. Finally, the author surveys the problems of grammar beyond the sentence. This title will be of interest to students of linguistics.

Constructions such as 'make an accusation against', or 'give one's approval for' can be seen as 'stretched' versions of simple verbs, such as 'accuse' or 'approve of'. What is the precise linguistic nature of stretched verbs, and how many basic types are there? What kinds of grammatical connections are involved, and what lexical limits are there on these constructions? What is their precise semantic value? These are some of the questions that this book sets out to answer in its investigation of stretched verb constructions.

Contents:
Part 1: Defining the Field
1. Towards a Definition of 'Kindred Relations'
2. Stretched Elaborated Verb Structures
3. Using Data
Part II: Syntactic Restructuring
1. Syntactic Framework
2. Types of Restructuring
Part III: The Event Phrase
1. Eventive/Agentive Noun Phrases: Their Core
2. Eventive/Agentive Noun Phrases: Modifiers and Qualifiers
3. Agentive Adjective Phrases
Part IV: The Thin Verb
1. The Individual Thin Verbs, Their Meanings and Collocations
2. The Grammatical Meanings of Thin Verbs
Part V: The Lexical Status of Stretched Verb Constructions
1. The Semantics Of Stretched Verb Constructions
2. Stretched Verb Constructions and The Lexicon