The main objective of Introducción a Práctica Gramatical del Inglés is to introduce
the first-year university student into the world of English grammar. Most of the
students doing this introductory course have had some previous contact with
English grammar in one form or another. But here we intend to offer them a new
perspective on the subject: one which relates grammatical structure systematically
to meaning and use.
Introducción a Práctica Gramatical del Inglés does not intend to be a complete
review of English grammar but an impressive survey of some of the main study
areas of this subject. One that supplies basic information about the different
grammatical forms and structures included in the first year syllabus of Práctica
Gramatical del Inglés at Facultad de Lenguas (U.N.C) and which will, naturally, be
given a more detailed treatment during the year.
The organization of the present work goes from a description of the main
grammatical features of isolated words through to sentences and simple texts.
Though we have attempted to simplify grammatical terminology and classifications
as far as possible, we have introduced and explained the metalanguage essential to
describe the grammar of the English language. The treatment of such terminology
goes from simple terms like noun and adjective to more complex ones like time and
tense and ditransitive complementation, notions we consider the future English teacher
and/or translator should master.