What is a Reference Grammar?

A reference grammar is a prose-like description of the major grammatical constructions in a language, illustrated with examples.

A description of the grammar of a language, with explanations of the principles governing the construction of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences.

tense Affirmative/Negative/Question Use Signal Words

Simple Present

A: He speaks. N: He does not speak. Q: Does he speak?

action in the present

taking place once,

never or several

times

facts

actions taking place

one after another

action set by a

timetable or schedule

always, every …, never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, usually if sentences type I (If I talk, …)

Present Progressive

A: He is speaking. N: He is not speaking. Q: Is he speaking?

action taking place in

the moment of

speaking

action taking place

only for a limited

period of time

action arranged for the

future

at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now

Simple Past A: He spoke. N: He did not speak. Q: Did he speak?

action in the past taking

place once, never or several

times

actions taking place one after

another

action taking place in the middle

of another action

yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday if sentence type II (If I talked, …)

Past Progressive

A: He was speaking. N: He was not speaking. Q: Was he speaking?

action going on at a certain

time in the past

actions taking place at the same

time

action in the past that is

interrupted by another action

when, while, as long as

Present Perfect Simple

A: He has spoken. N: He has not spoken. Q: Has he spoken?

putting emphasis on the result

action that is still going on

action that stopped recently

finished action that has an influence

on the present

action that has taken place once,

never or several times before the

moment of speaking

already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now

Present Perfect Progressive

A: He has been speaking. N: He has not been speaking. Q: Has he been speaking?

putting emphasis on the course or

duration (not the result)

action that recently stopped or is

still going on

finished action that influenced the

present

all day, for 4 years, since 1993, how long?, the whole week

Past Perfect Simple

A: He had spoken. N: He had not spoken. Q: Had he spoken?

action taking place before a

certain time in the past

sometimes interchangeable

with past perfect progressive

putting emphasis only on

the fact (not the duration)

already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day if sentence type III (If I had talked, …)

Past Perfect Progressive

A: He had been speaking. N: He had not been speaking. Q: Had he been speaking?

action taking place before a

certain time in the past

sometimes interchangeable

with past perfect simple

putting emphasis on

the duration or course of an

action

for, since, the whole day, all day

Future I Simple

A: He will speak. N: He will not speak. Q: Will he speak?

action in the future that cannot be

influenced

spontaneous decision

assumption with regard to the

future

in a year, next …, tomorrow If-Satz Typ I (If you ask her, shewill help you.) assumption: I think, probably, perhaps

Future I Simple

(going to)

A: He is going to speak. N: He is not going to speak. Q: Is he going to speak?

decision made for the future

conclusion with regard to the

future

in one year, next week, tomorrow

Future I Progressive

A: He will be speaking. N: He will not be speaking. Q: Will he be speaking?

action that is going on at a

certain time in the future

action that is sure to happen in

the near future

in one year, next week, tomorrow

Future II Simple A: He will have spoken. N: He will not have spoken. Q: Will he have spoken?

action that will be finished at a

certain time in the future

by Monday, in a week

Future II Progressive

A: He will have been speaking. N: He will not have been speaking. Q: Will he have been speaking?

action taking place before a

certain time in the future

putting emphasis on

the course of an action

for …, the last couple of hours, all day long

Conditional I Simple

A: He would speak. N: He would not speak. Q: Would he speak?

action that might take place if sentences type II (If I were you, I would go home.)

Conditional I Progressive

A: He would be speaking. N: He would not be speaking. Q: Would he be speaking?

action that might take place

putting emphasis on

the course / duration of the

action

Conditional II Simple

A: He would have spoken. N: He would not have spoken. Q: Would he have spoken?

action that might have taken

place in the past

if sentences type III (If I had seen that, I would have helped.)

Conditional II Progressive

A: He would have been speaking. N: He would not have been speaking. Q: Would he have been speaking?

action that might have taken

place in the past

puts emphasis on

the course / duration of the

action

Required training and coursesIn order to write a reference grammar you

should be trained in descriptive linguistics. The following courses combined with practical help will equip you to produce a suitable reference grammar:

• Phonetics

• Phonology

• Morphology

• Syntax

• Semantics

• Field methods

Parts of a reference grammar

________________________________________

Although reference grammars vary considerably in length and scope, a good one should consist minimally of the following substantive parts:

Introduction

An introductory section or chapter should provide essential background material on the language and its speakers, including genetic affiliation, sociolinguistic situation (demography, dialects), ethnography, and a brief review of previous literature. This section does not have to be very long, but it is absolutely necessary in order to orient the reader to the language as a vehicle for communication used by real people.

Body

The main part of the grammar is usually organized according to some structural organizing principle. One principle that I advocate is to begin with "smaller" units of structure and to work one's way up to the larger and normally more complex units, for example:

• Phonemes

• Nouns

• Nominal predications

• Verbs

• Verbal predications

• Compound predications

• Complex predications

• Discourse structure

As structural complexity increases, it becomes less and less feasible to organize the grammar according to structure alone. There are other possible organizing principles, and to a great extent the organization of a particular grammar should reflect the unique characteristics of the language itself.

Index

A good index is what turns an ordinary grammar into a true reference grammar. One "test" I often apply to published grammars is to look up some grammatical feature that ought to be treated in any reference grammar, such as relative clauses or causatives, and check on how long it takes me to find an example of that feature. If it takes longer than five minutes, the grammar fails the test. Since the purpose of a reference grammar is to make detailed information on a language accessible, a good measure of its success in accomplishing its intended purpose is how easily that detailed information can be found. Without a good index, the best reference grammar in the world is almost useless.

Bibliography

The grammar should contain a bibliography of all previous literature on the language, plus other works cited in the grammar.

Abbreviations

All descriptive linguistic work involves abbreviations. A good informative list of all the abbreviations found in the grammar is an important tool to allow the reader to comprehend and use it.

Here is a table that contrasts reference

grammars with pedagogical grammars:

A reference grammar is … A pedagogical grammar is …

Designed to teach someone about the language and to

give readers a reference tool for looking up specific

details of the language.

Designed to teach someone how to use a language.

Organized according to universal structural categories. Organized according to usefulness and ease of learning.

Contains chapters which tend to be longer than those in

a pedagogical grammar.

Contains chapters which tend to be short and contain very brief

grammatical explanations.

Contains chapters which consist mostly of explanation

plus one or two examples of every point mentioned.

Contains chapters which consist mostly of exercises that help the

reader practice and internalize the various structures as well as

vocabulary and pronunciation.

Written for individuals who have some understanding

of language as a universal phenomenon and who wish to

learn how the particular language described fits into

universal understandings of human language.

Written for anyone who is interested in learning a language.

Kinds

Here is a table that describes the

two kinds of reference grammars

based on their organization and

intended users:

Intended Users Organization Example

Mother-tongue speakers of the

language who want to understand

more about their language

Organized in terms of the forms

that the readers already know how

to use, but are not aware of their

significance to the grammar as a

whole

In a reference grammar of

English for English speakers

there may be sections

on the and a.

Linguists who want information on

the language for comparative

purposes

Organized in terms of a universal

outline designed to help the reader

make meaningful comparisons

between the language described

and other languages

In a reference grammar of

English, the and a may be

treated in a section on

identifiability'. (Reference

grammars of other

languages may treat the

order of nouns in a sentence

or some bound

morphological markers

under this same heading.)

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