This new edition of Downing and Locke's 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. The 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; a comprehensive index; select bibliography; and suggestions for further reading.