Introducing functional grammar - Geoff Thompson

Closely based on Michael Halliday's 'Introduction to Functional Grammar', this book is an accessible introduction to the most fully developed functional approach to grammar currently available. It can be used in its own right or to prepare students for the more theoretical presentation of grammar in Halliday's book. It clearly explains why the functional approach is necessary in order to investigate how grammar is used as a resource for making meaning, and it describes each of the major grammatical systems in terms of the meaning that they contribute to messages.



Starting with simple procedures for identifying the choices in a particular system, each chapter discusses the function of the system in context. This involves analysing what it means to make one choice from the system rather than another, e.g. what are the choices open to a speaker in the Mood system of the clause (declarative, interrogative, imperative), and why does a speaker choose to ask a question (using an interrogative form) rather than make a question (using a declarative form)? The book examines how each system works in the construction of clauses - the basic units for conveying meanings - and also at how the meanings in clauses contribute to the overall meaning of a text.