Since its publication in 1971, Meaning and the English Language has established itself as a standard textbook for studies in English Language. It deals with areas of the language that are of particular interest in themselves and which are especially difficult for learners to master: tense, progressive and perfect aspects, mood and the modal auxiliaries.

There are numerous examples of differences and similarities in meaning throughout the book, making it a clear and precise guide to English. Updated for the language of the 21st Century, this edition will prove invaluable for learners and teachers alike.

A practical rather than a theoretical approach to 'trouble-spots' of the English language for foreign learners.

About the Author

Geoffrey Leech was Professor of Linguistics and Modern English Language at Lancaster University from 1974 to 1996. He then became Research Professor in English Linguistics. He has been Emeritus Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Modern English Language, Lancaster University, since 2002.

He has written, co-authored or co-edited 25 books in the areas of English grammar, literary stylistics, semantics, computational linguistics, corpus linguistics and pragmatics. They include:

English in Advertising: A Linguistic Study of Advertising in Great Britain (1966); A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry (1969); Meaning and the English Verb (1971, 2nd ed. 1987, 3rd ed. in preparation); A Communicative Grammar of English (with J. Svartvik) (1975, 2nd edn. 1994, 3rd edn. 2002); Style in Fiction: A Linguistic Introduction to English Fictional Prose (with M. Short) (1981); Principles of Pragmatics (1983); A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (with R. Quirk, S. Greenbaum and J. Svartvik) (1985); Spoken English on Computer: Transcription, Mark-up and Application (ed. with G. Myers and J. Thomas) (1995); Corpus Annotation: Linguistic Information from Computer Text Corpora (ed. with R. Garside and T. McEnery) (1997); Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English (with D. Biber, S. Johansson, S. Conrad and E. Finegan) (1999); Word Frequencies in Written and Spoken English: based on the British National Corpus (with P. Rayson and A. Wilson) (2001); Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English (with D. Biber and S. Conrad) (2002)

Reviews

This new updated third edition confirms Professor Leech's pre-eminence in the field. The book is still the clearest and most authoritative statement of meaning in the verb phrase, and the revised extended treatment of modality and mood constitutes a new standard for English language study. The writing is clear, precise and combines complexity with accessibility. Descriptive linguists, applied linguists, critical discourse analysts, teachers and students of the English language across the world will continue to reach for this book again and again. Professor Peter Stockwell, University of Nottingham

This new edition, taking into account recent studies on English grammar, is elaborately organized with lucid and insightful descriptions of the relationship between form and meaning - indispensably valuable work that will no doubt greatly benefit teachers and students of English as a second/foreign language. Professor Miyazaki Akio, Mie University, Japan

Book Information
ISBN 9780582784574
Author Geoffrey N. Leech
Format Paperback
Page Count 152
Imprint Longman
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 238g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 156mm * 8mm