A modern English grammar on historical principles is a seven-volume grammar of English written by Otto Jespersen. The first volume ("part"), Sounds and Spellings, was published in 1909; two through five were on syntax; six was on morphology; and seven returned to the topic of syntax. It took until 1949 for all seven to be completed.[1]: 1766
In 1989 Randolph Quirk called the work "a continual source of inspiration and
value".[2]
Publishing details
Part I. Sounds and Spellings. Heidelberg: Winter, 1909. OCLC895492988. Heidelberg: Winter, 1927. OCLC832266245.
Part II. Syntax. First volume. Heidelberg: Winter, 1914. OCLC721272956. Heidelberg: Winter, 1927. OCLC504564992.
Part III. Syntax. Second volume. Heidelberg: Winter, 1927. OCLC163081744. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1928. OCLC605978794.
Part IV. Syntax. Third volume. Time and Tense. Heidelberg: Winter, 1931. OCLC1072433169.
Part V. Syntax. Fourth volume. Copenhagen: Munksgaard, 1940. OCLC175015576.
Part VI. Morphology. With Paul Christophersen, Niels Haislund, and Knud Schibsbye. Copenhagen: Munksgaard, 1942. OCLC220329786.
Part VII. Syntax. Completed and edited by Niels Haislund. Copenhagen: Munksgaard; London: George Allen & Unwin, 1949. OCLC889073122.
^Linn, Andrew (2006). "English grammar writing". In Aarts, Bas; McMahon, April (eds.). The Handbook of English Linguistics. Blackwell Handbooks in Linguistics. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell. p. 81. ISBN978-1-4051-1382-3.