COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Compare and Contrast. An English Grammar for Speakers of Spanish
J. Lachlan Mackenzie y Elena Martínez Caro

Nadie puede aprender una lengua extranjera sin enfrentarse a su gramática. Este libro, escrito en inglés, está orientado a hablantes nativos del español que deseen perfeccionar su conocimiento de la gramática inglesa por razones de estudio, para sus viajes o en sus relaciones profesionales en el ámbito internacional. Basado en una experiencia de décadas, no sólo ofrece una sólida introducción a la descripción lingüística del inglés en general sino que también dedica especial atención a los escollos que se le presentan al estudiante de habla española en particular. Es una obra actualizada, fácil de utilizar y que proporciona información autorizada.

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“A great idea well carried out. A welcome response to the eternal question: how to teach or learn the grammar of a foreign language.”
ANGELA DOWNING (Catedrática Emérita, Universidad Complutense de Madrid)

“Una herramienta indispensable para estudiantes universitarios de Estudios Ingleses y Traducción”
MONTSERRAT MARTÍNEZ VÁZQUEZ (Catedrática, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla)

“A comprehensive view of the areas of English grammar that have proved to be more difficult to learn for Spanish native speakers. A fertile soil for raising speakers’ awareness about differences in language usage.”
MARIANN LARSEN (Profesora Titular, Universidad Complutense de Madrid)

“Una excelente gramática contrastiva, muy útil para los estudiantes universitarios”
FRANCISCO SÁNCHEZ BENEDITO (Universidad de Málaga)

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1
First steps in English grammar

Chapter 2
Word classes and phrases: the categories of English

2.1. Introduction
2.2. Word classes
2.3. The phrase: an introduction
2.4. The verb
2.4.1. The verb phrase
2.4.2. The auxiliary verb
2.4.3. The phrasal, prepositional and phrasal-prepositional verb
2.5. Other word classes
2.5.1. The noun
2.5.1.1. The noun phrase
2.5.1.2. The determiner
2.5.2. The pronoun
2.5.3. The adjective
2.5.3.1. The adjective phrase
2.5.4. The adverb
2.5.5. The preposition
2.6. Conclusion
Exercises

Chapter 3
The major constructions of English

3.1. Introduction
3.2. The intransitive construction
3.3. The monotransitive construction
3.3.1. The monotransitive construction with NP object
3.3.2. The monotransitive construction with prepositional object
3.4. The ditransitive construction
3.5. The resultative construction
3.5.1. The NP-NP resultative construction
3.5.2. The NP-AdjP resultative construction
3.5.3. The NP-PrepP resultative construction
3.6. The copular construction
3.6.1. The NP copular construction
3.6.2. The AdjP copular construction
3.6.3. The PrepP copular construction
3.7. The locomotive construction
3.8. The middle construction
3.8.1. The middle construction with obligatory AdvP
3.8.2. The middle construction without AdvP
3.9. Extensions to the basic constructions
3.10. Conclusion
Exercises

Chapter 4
Clause type, mood and subject-operator order

4.1. Introduction
4.2. Finiteness
4.3. The interaction between subject and operator
4.3.1. The subject
4.3.2. The operator
4.4. An overview of clause types
4.4.1. Declaratives and interrogatives
4.4.2. Imperatives and exclamatives
4.5. Uses of the subjunctive in Spanish and ways of rendering it in English
4.6. Negation
4.7. Emphasis and coding
4.8. Tag questions
4.9. Inversion
4.10. The existential construction
4.11. The presentative construction
4.12. The restricted occurrence of VS order in English
4.13. Conclusion
Exercises

Chapter 5
Tense, aspect and modality

5.1. Introduction
5.2. Tense
5.2.1. The present tense
5.2.2. Past tense
5.3. Aspect
5.3.1. Perfect aspect
5.3.1.1. Perfect aspect and present tense
5.3.1.2. Perfect aspect and past tense
5.3.2. Progressive aspect
5.3.2.1. Progressive with present or past tense without perfect
5.3.2.2. Progressive with present or past tense and with perfect
5.4. The expression of future time
5.4.1. will + verb
5.4.2. will + be + verb-ing
5.4.3. be going to + verb
5.4.4. be to + verb
5.4.5. The present progressive form of the verb
5.4.6. The simple present form of the verb
5.4.7. be about to
5.5. Modality
5.5.1. The grammatical characteristics of modals
5.5.2. The meanings of modals
5.5.2.1. Possibility and permission
5.5.2.2. Obligation and certainty
5.5.2.3. Ability
5.6. Conclusion
Exercises

Chapter 6
The passive voice and Spanish se constructions

6.1. Introduction
6.2. The passive voice
6.2.1. Forming the passive
6.2.2. The passive of verbs with two patients
6.2.2.1. Personal pronoun se
6.2.3. The passive of phrasal, prepositional and phrasal-prepositional verbs
6.2.4. The passive with se and equivalents in English
6.2.5. The impersonal construction with se
6.3. The middle construction
6.3.1. Summary
6.4. The fronting construction
6.5. Conclusion
Exercises

Chapter 7
Articles in the noun phrase

7.1. Introduction
7.2. The definite article
7.2.1. Abstract concepts
7.2.2. Non-specific nouns
7.2.3. Non-referential nouns
7.2.4. Names of places, languages and people
7.2.5. Time expressions
7.2.6. Object of the verb play
7.2.7. Further cases
7.2.8. Final complications
7.3. The indefinite article
7.3.1. Noun phrases after verbs of being, becoming and remaining
7.3.2. Noun phrases in negative clauses
7.3.3. Noun phrases after certain prepositions
7.3.4. Noun phrases with specific premodifiers
7.3.5. Numerals
7.3.6. Further cases
7.4. The English equivalents of noun phrases with lo
7.5. Conclusion
Exercises

Chapter 8
The genitive

8.1. Introduction
8.2. The spelling of the prenominal genitive
8.3. The marking of the prenominal genitive
8.4. Classifying vs. specifying genitives
8.5. Choosing between the prenominal and postnominal specifying genitive
8.6. The independent genitive
8.7. The double genitive
8.8. Conclusion
Exercises

Chapter 9
The noun itself

9.1. Introduction
9.2. Countability
9.3. Compounds
9.4. Concord
9.4.1. Semantic vs grammatical concord
9.4.2. Concord with indefinite pronouns
9.5. Converting adjectives to nouns
9.5.1. Nationalities
9.5.2. Permanent personal characteristics
9.6. Conclusion
Exercises

Chapter 10
The pronoun and associated categories

10.1. Introduction
10.2. Personal pronouns
10.2.1. Person
10.2.2. Number
10.2.3. Case.
10.2.4. Sex
10.2.5. The indefinite pronoun one
10.2.6. The quasi-pronoun so
10.2.7. Possessive determiners
10.2.8. Possessive personal pronouns
10.3. Reflexive and reciprocal pronouns
10.3.1. Constructions that are reflexive or reciprocal in English and Spanish
10.3.2. Constructions that are reflexive in Spanish but not in English
10.3.3. The emphatic use of reflexive pronouns in English
10.4. Demonstrative pronouns
10.4.1. Forms
10.4.2. Functions
10.5. Indefinite pronouns
10.5.1. Each
10.5.2. Some and any
10.5.3. Either and neither
10.5.4. Both
10.5.5. One
10.6. The existential pronoun There
10.7. Conclusion
Exercises

Chapter 11
The adverbial

11.1. Introduction
11.2. The adverb
11.2.1. Intraphrasal adverbs
11.3. Adjuncts
11.3.1. Adjuncts that are adverbs
11.3.2. Adjuncts that are not adverbs
11.3.3. The conditional clause
11.4. Disjuncts
11.5. Conjuncts
11.6. Clauses with many adverbs
11.7. Conclusion
Exercises

Chapter 12
Building sentences

12.1. Introduction
12.2. Coordination
12.2.1. Compound sentences
12.2.2. Coordination of subordinate clauses
12.2.3. Coordination of non-clausal elements
12.3. Subordination
12.3.1. Clausal adjuncts, disjuncts and conjuncts
12.3.2. Non-restrictive relative clauses
12.4. Embedding
12.5. Clauses embedded in a phrase
12.5.1. Restrictive relative clauses
12.5.2. Appositional clauses
12.6. Cleft constructions
12.7. Conclusion
Exercises

Keys to the exercises
English-Spanish glossary of grammatical terms
Index



Figures

Figure 1. Types of states of affairs
Figure 2. Types of phenomena
Figure 3. The meanings of deontic and epistemic modals

Tables

Table 1. Extensions to the monotransitive construction in initial, medial and final position
Table 2. Tense-aspect combinations in English
Table 3. Summary of similarities and differences among the passive with se, the middle construction and the impersonal construction with se