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In our first blogpost about the newCollins COBUILD English Grammar, we saw how a functional grammar is all about language use:
Its about communicative grammar that learners can use in the typical situations that they find themselves in as they go about their daily lives. Moreover, its an approach in which grammar is not seen as a set of rules, but rather as a communicative resource.
Until the later part of the 20th century, most students and teachers would have expected a grammar book to contain rules for good style. For example, a grammarian might have explained that you should never end a sentence with a preposition or that starting a sentence with a conjunction like And or But is a big no-no. This type of reference, which tells you how to speak so-called correct English, can be referred to as a prescriptive grammar.
The Collins COBUILD range is the result of a project that began in the 1980s, when Collins Publishers formed a partnership with researchers at the University of Birmingham, headed by John Sinclair [1933-2007], to develop an electronic corpus of written and spoken English. The aim was to provide authentic examples for Collins new learner dictionary. When the first Collins COBUILD Dictionary of English was published in 1987, it revolutionized dictionaries for learners, leading to a new generation of corpus-driven reference materials for English language learners. A grammar book likeCollins COBUILD English Grammar,whichdescribesthe language as it is actually used, can be referred to as a descriptive grammar.
So, to summarize, a prescriptive grammar serves to impose its own vision of correct language use, and a descriptive grammar observes how language is used and passes this information on to readers.
In his blog, An A-Z of ELT, Scott Thornbury [2011] describes how some trainee teachers come to associateallrules with prescriptivism because all statements about how language works seem to be telling students how they should speak or write. So what is the difference between a grammar rule such as dont put a preposition at the end of a sentence and one that says always add an -s to the end of a 3rd person singular verb in the present simple? Thornbury explains this by distinguishing two types of rules: rules-as-regulations and rules-as-regularities. The former describesrules that attempt to regulate our language use, while the latter describes observations about what regularly occurs in the language. There is always going to be some overlap, of course, but COBUILD is more concerned with regularities.
Lets look at what this means in terms ofCollins COBUILD English Grammaritself.
Examples
All the examples in Collins COBUILD English Grammar are taken directly from the Collins Corpus [with only minor changes made to cut out any distracting noise]. The corpus is regularly updated with new material taken from everyday speech and writing. This allows us to give clear illustrations of how people really speak and write, rather than telling students how we think they should express themselves. For example, we all know that stative verbs [e.g. want, feel, see, hear, love] are not usually used with progressive forms [apart from in informal Im lovin it-type phrases]. However, examples from the Collins Corpus show that in certain cases it is perfectly normal, even in formal situations, to use them with perfect forms:
Ive been wanting to speak to you about this for some time.Then she heard it the sound shed been hearing in her head for weeks.
Similarly, who hasnt taught or learnt the rule that the determiner much is used in negatives and question forms, and is not generally found in affirmative statements? While this rule is perfectly legitimate and serviceable, our corpus data shows us certain cases in which much can be used in affirmative statements. This usage is most common with abstract nouns, particularly those relating to discussion, debate, and research.
The subject is generating much debate among political and business analysts.
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After much discussion, they decided to take the coin to a jeweller.Regular analysis of corpus data and a perpetual ear to the ground mean that pedagogical grammarians at COBUILD dont allow themselves to be complacent. That would be the way for rules to become rules-as-regulations [i.e. prescriptive] rather than rules-as-regularities [i.e. descriptive].
Pet peeves
Lets now look at how Collins COBUILD English Grammar deals with some of the old chestnuts of English grammar those prescriptive rules that came about because some people thought English should emulate Latin, or ones that originated as the pet peeve of a self-anointed maven [Pinker 2014].
Never begin a sentence with a conjunctionAsAllison Vannest [2016] writes in her blogpost on grammarly.com, The prohibition against opening a sentence with a conjunction is one of the most persistent grammar myths of all time. She adds that the Chicago Manual of Style estimates [perhaps rather wildly] that as many as 10 percent of the finest sentences ever written began with a conjunction.
In the section on coordinating conjunctions, Collins COBUILD English Grammar notes:
In writing, you can sometimes begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. You do this to make the sentence seem more dramatic or forceful. Some people think this use is incorrect.
Why do learners need to know that some people think this is incorrect? Well, its all about knowing your audience, getting a feel for how conservative they are, and acting accordingly. If learners want to be absolutely sure that they wont be marked down by an old-school teacher or examiner, they might want to avoid starting a sentence with a conjunction. Its up to them.
Never split an infinitiveThis rule dates back to an era when Latin was seen as the model to follow. Many people still try to avoid splitting infinitives because prescriptive grammar books and well-meaning teachers prescribed this as a rigid rule that should never be broken. However, as Collins COBUILD English Grammar observes:
Sometimes, if you avoid putting the adverb between the to and the infinitive, you change the emphasis of the sentence, or it can sound clumsy. In such cases, splitting the infinitive, as it is called, is now generally considered acceptable.I want you to really enjoy yourself.
Note the caveat that a small number of people may not tolerate a split infinitive. Again, this is important advice for students who are taking exams or who know that their audience subscribes to a more traditional approach to English usage.
As we can see, then, through careful monitoring of corpus data, old rules-as-regulations start to become anachronisms and new rules-as-regularities are established. Keeping up to date by reading and listening, always with a critical ear, is vital for teachers and learners.
And, of course, for expert help in doing so, always be sure to have access to a good descriptive grammar.
Explore this topic in greater detail with our free guided worksheet.
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