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The Story of Be: A Verb's-Eye View of the English Language
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The Story of Be: A Verb's-Eye View of the English Language Hardcover - 2017

by David Crystal


From the publisher

It's the most simple, unassuming, innocent-looking verb: to be. Yet it is jam-packed with more different meanings, forms, and uses than any other English word. As he reveals be's multiple incarnations, David Crystal takes us to the heart of our flexible and changing language. He tells the intriguing story in 26 chapters, each linked to a particular usage. We meet circumstantial be ("how are you?"), numerical be ("two and two is four"), quotative be ("so I was like, 'wow'"), and ludic be ("oh no he isn't!"), and a whole swarm of other meanings. Bringing the ideas to life are a host of examples from sources as varied as Beowulf, Jane Austen, pantomime, Hamlet (of course), and Star Wars, with cartoons from Ed McLachlan and Punch peppered throughout. Full of fascinating nuggets of information, it is a book to delight any lover of words and language.

Details

  • Title The Story of Be: A Verb's-Eye View of the English Language
  • Author David Crystal
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition Hardback
  • Pages 208
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Oxford University Press, USA
  • Date 2017-06-01
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Illustrated, Index
  • ISBN 9780198791096 / 0198791097
  • Weight 0.7 lbs (0.32 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.8 in (19.81 x 13.46 x 2.03 cm)
  • Library of Congress subjects English language - Syntax, English language - Verb
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2016948369
  • Dewey Decimal Code 425.6

Media reviews

Citations

  • Kirkus Reviews, 05/01/2017, Page 0

About the author


David Crystal is known throughout the world as a writer, editor, lecturer, and broadcaster on language. He has published extensively on the history and development of English, including The Stories of English (2004), Evolving English (2010), Begat: The King James Bible and the English Language (2010), The Story of English in 100 Words (2011), Spell It Out: The Singular Story of English Spelling (2012), Wordsmiths and Warriors: The English-Language Tourist's Guide to Britain (with Hilary Crystal, 2013), and The Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation (2016).
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The Story of Be : A Verb's-Eye View of the English Language

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The Story of Be: A Verb's-Eye View of the English Language

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