ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the grammatical structure of StE. It is, however, impossible to do this without making comments on other aspects of English such as phonology, lexis, and text types, and without making at least occasional reference to regional and social variation in syntax and morphology. The following aspects of grammar are treated in this chapter: the level of word classes, functional word groups or phrases, and the fundamental syntactical relations of English at the clause or sentence level. The chapter focuses especially on the central categories of tense, and progressive and perfect aspect, and modality (types of modality; core modal auxiliaries and semi-modal auxiliaries). Voice, its forms and functions, and clause structure, including patterns of complement clause use, are introduced.
