Modern English Grammar

Although this section of ENG 403 initially tests overall awareness of the prescribed grammar of School English (SE), it does not teach students English, nor will it offer a comprehensive overview of SE basic grammar and punctuation (self-study is required of those who lack required skills). ENG 403 is an advanced class and therefore looks primarily at different levels of grammatical description. It is aimed at English and English Education majors who need to know how (and teach others how) to analyze, in terms of some of their constituents, English utterances (language in actual use rather than the idealized sentences found in most grammar books).

Student Learning Objectives

Students will demonstrate a) awareness of a variety of approaches to grammatical description of English, b) competence in basic tree diagrams and more advanced slot-function analysis, and c) understanding of the ramifications of grammatical accuracy for the teaching of language and writing classes.