Practical English Usage

by Michael Swan

Practical English Usage is a major new reference guide for intermediate and advanced students of English (of all nationalities) and their teachers. It contains short clear articles on all the grammatical problems which regularly cause difficulty to foreign learners. In addition, it deals with selected points of vocabulary, idiom, style, pronunciation and spelling. The main differences between British and American usage are also dealt with. Each entry contains an explanation of a problem, examples of correct usage, and - when this is useful - examples of typical mistakes.

Special features of this book include:
- simple and practical presentation
- alphabetical arrangement of numbered entries
- detailed index and cross-reference system
- distinction between formal and informal usage

A hardback edition is also available.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Language, Linguistics, Writing, Teaching, Education

658 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Michael Swan is a writer specializing in English Language teaching and reference materials. His many publications include Practical English Usage (OUP), the Cambridge English Course series (with Catherine Walter), and, also with Catherine Walter, the new Oxford English Grammar Course. Michael’s interests include pedagogic grammar, mother-tongue influence in second language acquisition, and the relationship between applied linguistic theory and classroom language-teaching practice. He has had extensive experience with adult learners, and has worked with teachers in many countries.

Reviews

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My bible. ESL teacher for 12 yrs and this is my go-to reference book. Not very student-friendly though. Definitely a teacher resource. For student resources, Murphy's Grammar in Use is a godsend.

[Elmira · Rating 5 out of 5]

کتابی جامع و کامل که شامل گرامر در سطح پیشرفته، نکات مهم و تمامی استثنائات رایج در استفاده از کلمات و افعال و اصطلاحات زبان انگلیسی می باشد. برای افرادی که در زمینه تدریس زبان انگلیسی هستند و یا در رشته های زبان انگلیسی تحصیل می کنند، به عنوان یکی از مراجع مهم کاملا کاربردی است. برای من مطالب این کتاب بسیار مفید و جالب است. البته برای کسانی که فقط علاقه به انگلیسی دارند و در شرف یادگیری هستند، باید بگم که این کتاب بیشتر به عنوان رفرنس هست .

[P.J. Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

An English Teacher's Bible

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Practical English Usage' is probably the first book I read about English language grammar and structure. Now it is one of the main sources I use for teaching English. The book is very useful and quite detailed. I first read it when I was a school student, and it really helped me learn more about the nuances of English. Luckily when I went to college, I found an updated edition in the library at my university. Swan answers a lot of questions English non-native speakers have (particularly in areas like punctuation and grammar). He also offers an explanation of the common errors made even by some native speakers. The book is written in a way that makes it easy for readers to search for the topics that they would like to understand. It goes beyond the straightforward rules that most English-speaking people know (tenses for example) and tries to explore that which is irregular, confusing, and often unnoticed.

[Quiver · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most useful trove of practical advice.

My only quibble is that there are no page numbers. Instead, you are forced to use the section numbers for reference, and sections can be anything between a paragraph and couple of pages long. The difference shouldn't matter much, but it takes a bit of getting used to.

[Bibhuti Bhusan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have rated it 5 stars. But Iam going with 4 because, it's lack of any exercise. Although, it's for advanced students, it's not meant to be use as a practice book, even it's not to be used as a daily study material. Rather, it's like a bible or you can say a 'Dictionary for Grammar'. You should have a copy of this and refer to it whenever you have any query. You'll find every answer to your grammar related question. *Note* don't bother to purchase it if you are just starting, I would rather suggest go for Grammar in Use series by Murphy.

[Amin Abootalebi Yazdi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A teacher's Bible!

[Eastofoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very easy to understand. You do not need a degree in linguistics to make sense of it. It's very thorough, with clear examples and an excellent reference book overall.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Swan I am madly in love with you.

[Lingo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Widely held to be the "Bible" of English Language Teaching, Swan's book is useful as a reference but not the be-all-and-end-all that many people assume. This is because it doesn't treat grammar as a meaning-making resource but rather a set of prescriptive rules that do not necessarily reflect real language in use. I would recommend Lock's 'Functional English Grammar for Language Teachers' over this book any day. However, one thing I like about Swan's book is its dictionary-style index, making it fairly easy to locate the grammar point in question. As for its usefulness, I don't find it very 'practical' at all.

[Samar Almossa · Rating 5 out of 5]

very useful for English language teachers and people who are interested in Grammar. It is my reference and I will keep it in my library forever.

[Thyag · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don't really have to slog through all the rules of grammar to get better at English. An alternative is to follow the intuitive approach: to learn English grammar through usage and examples. 'Practical English Usage' helps you achieve just that. It has an A to Z listing, detailing the usage of all the parts of speech and many misused words or clauses.

Should you buy one book on English grammar and usage, this would be it. 5 stars.

[Jonathan Yu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical English Usage contains many examples of common mistakes about English grammar. It surely is a treasure to people who treat English as a second language and non-English speakers. It explains to me the reason why I speak English in this way but not the other way around by showing plenty cases.

[Aha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Best Grammar Book!

[Josef · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book about English grammar.

[Quantum · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very useful and complete reference. Includes basic usage plus a lot of idiosyncrasies.

[Rui · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite English grammar reference. Written by a British writer, it's mainly about British English.

[Julianne Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know if you ever really "read" a reference book like this, but it was invaluable during my CELTA studies last summer and continues to be very useful.

[Jamie Nickerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential for non-native and native speakers alike. This book answers the 'whys' of English speaking - rare to find.

[Bro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a book you read through, but if you are teaching the whys of English it is a necessity!

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty helpful. Well presented, if concise to a fault - no doubt this is the price you pay for breadth of coverage.
That said, you never know whether the point you want to clarify will be in here or not, unless it's part of the core grammar, in which case it will.
But say you want to look up a particular expression to see what MS has to say about how it's used. Couple of examples: (1) 'in particular': appears in two entries, but only as instances, in examples - no discussion, and no contrasting with similar expressions such as 'particularly', which is what I was interested in; (2) 'as to': as far as I can tell from the index, nothing at all on this.

Still, will be very useful for non-native students of English at all levels beyond beginner, and I believe that is the core target market; and always worth searching in for editors and others, which is my category I suppose. Kudos to Swan.

[J P · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the only book I have re-read over many times in my reading journey. I cherish this book. I don't use it as a reference book. I value this book and its contents incredibly. No book is more fun than this. The expressions are genius. The reasoning is grand.

If all books are written like this one, with no excercise and more depth in a rich way, I would be so happy and satisfied.

The best English-learning book ever

[EstelleLiterature · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, the best in British usage, also has a useful chapter on American usage. For example, the use of American past tense versus British past perfect tense, the American use of subjunctive versus the British use of indicative. The section on dependent clauses taking simpler tense is insightful.

[Handan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, concise, with abundant examples. I've used the Chinese translation of the 2nd edition since 2003 and recently went through the 4th edition. I find it totally satisfying to see in clear words norms and rules that I've gleaned from reading and real-life exposure. I feel empowered.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really useful and invaluable for teaching ESOL.

[Royal's Amazings · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the only book...I've found utterly functional, but only for advanced English learners...👍

[Supanee Wannakan]

This book provides correct grammar usage which can be a good resource for non-native speakers.

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[Elmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find it useful to learn more about grammar...