Review

 

Review by Susan Hunston (University of Birmingham) in: System, 29 (2000) S. 313-316.
(Excerpts)

"This book [...] is a substantial and comprehensive survey of the internal grammar of the English verb phrase."

"One of the chief virtues of this book is the simplicity of language used and the clarity of the layout. The book is surprisingly readable for a grammar book, and a great deal of thought has gone into the presentation of tables and examples. [...] The examples chosen for the book are all from the corpora used. On the whole they have been very well chosen, illustrating the form, meaning or context in question without undue length, difficulty of vocabulary, or reliance on missing context."

"This is a comprehensive book with a wealth of information clearly and attractively presented. It might be a strengh or a weakness that different parts of it would appeal to very different audiences. Academic grammarians might be interested in the discussions of analysis. Materials writers might pay attention to the frequency information. Teachers would appreciate the presentation of different verb phrases, and learners will love the clarity of information on verb form distribution. Although it has limitations, it is all in all a book that fulfils its promise."