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A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language
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<p><i>A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language</i> is a <a href="/facts/Grammar/vprQsHIR">descriptive grammar</a> of English written by <a href="/facts/Randolph_Quirk/nzQ4lSw2">Randolph Quirk</a>, <a href="/facts/Sidney_Greenbaum/Klkd5Buh">Sidney Greenbaum</a>, <a href="/facts/Geoffrey_Leech/ExNJDkGb">Geoffrey Leech</a>, and <a href="/facts/Jan_Svartvik/CoV6RcMu">Jan Svartvik</a>. It was first published by <a href="/facts/Longman/l5JQ1NGz">Longman</a> in 1985. </p><p>In 1991, it was called "The greatest of contemporary grammars, because it is the most thorough and detailed we have," and "It is a grammar that transcends national boundaries." </p><p>The book relies on elicitation experiments as well as three <a href="/facts/Text_corpus/bYeEQQdh">corpora</a>: a corpus from the <a href="/facts/Survey_of_English_Usage/b6rAaQTX">Survey of English Usage</a>, the <a href="/facts/Lancaster-Oslo-Bergen_Corpus/rCl09MHg">Lancaster-Oslo-Bergen Corpus</a> (UK English), and the <a href="/facts/Brown_Corpus/mISIwf3X">Brown Corpus</a> (US English). </p>