This new edition of Downing and Lockes award-winning coursebook has been thoroughly revised and rewritten by Angela Downing to offer an integrated account of structure, meaning and function in relation to context. Also used as a reference book, it provides the linguistic basis for courses and projects on translation, contrastive linguistics, stylistics, reading and discourse studies. It is accessible and reader-friendly throughout. Key features include: chapters divided into modules of class-length materials each new concept clearly explained and highlighted authentic texts from a wide range of sources, both spoken and written, to illustrate grammatical usage clear chapter and module summaries enabling efficient class preparation and student revision exercises and topics for individual study answer key for analytical exercises comprehensive index select bibliography suggestions for further reading.