Transformational Grammar: A First Course (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)

I love second-hand books like this because they already have notes on them.

This book has 10 chapters: 1)Goal; 2)Structure; 3)Phrase-markers; 4)Nonu Phrases; 5)Other Phrases; 6)Clauses; 7)The Lexicon; 8)Transformations; 9)WH movement; 10)Alpha Movement. The book has been considered one of the best introductory textbooks of generative grammar. Radford leads the reader to go through the field step by step. He shows the reader the test and evidence of such categories as NP, VP, AP, PP as well as X', which is very useful to the new hand in the study. After each chapter, there are some interesting and challenging excercises for the reader to think about. The book is a basic reading for readers who first come across the GB theory or the MP theory. The book is never too old to be consulted.

The introductory student of linguistics may be intimidated by the size of this book (over 600 pages) and the small font (probably 9 point). But within a few pages, their fears will almost certainly give way to relief and ultimately satisfaction with the book. Radford has the rare ability to build complex explanations gradually, using just the right balance of supporting quotes (from Chomsky, for example), real-world examples, and visual aids. The reader is carried through a broad range of subject matter by a book that is written in a refreshing and enlightening style. As the other reviewer mentioned, the book never reads as "dated" or "stodgy" - a real accomplishment given the task at hand.

This book is certainly the gold standard in syntax books, but it's pretty dated. For example, the discussion of specifiers is way out of date (nowadays, specifiers are for subject positions), it's discussion of movement is also bound up in early GB theory, which is difficult. Radford's more recent textbooks are much more up to date.