Practical English Usage (3rd Edition)

click here for more details, find new or used items	Michael Swan Our price £19.80 (£22.00) New from £18.99 Used from £22.60 Pages: 688 (Paperback) ISBN: 0194420981 Pub: OUP Oxford Pub date: 2005-04-21 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 3858

Reader Reviews:

Totally indispensable for TEFL teachers (2/2 people found this helpful)

In my time as a TEFL teacher this book came in useful on numerous occassions. TEFL textbooks have notoriously shoddy guides to grammar, which are often detrimental rather than helpful for student and teacher. Swan doesn't have any practice exercises, but everything is laid out plain and simple, from the most straighforward grammar points to the complexities of cleft sentences.
As a teacher, especially in my first year, I would have sunk without a trace if it hadn't been for this book. You simply cannot do without it as a TEFL teacher, or as a serious English language student. There's not much more to say about it than that!

Big, fat and useless (2/8 people found this helpful)

This is regarded as a classic text, but in the eight years that I have owned it I can't say that I have ever found the answer to a single grammar or usage problem in this book. During a stint in Japan as an ELT teacher I did use the section on taboo words as the basis for an Upper Intermediate/Advanced lesson, but this can hardly be said to justify the cover price - or the weight and space it took up in my suitcase!

Handy guide to refer to (13/13 people found this helpful)

I've found this book very useful and easy to use for grammatical queries. You know how it is when you're not just quite sure about something, e.g. hypen usage - well this book is great to have at hand.

A very useful grammar the size of a dictionary (70/74 people found this helpful)

This grammar book has the size of a dictionary, and the entries are in alphabetical order for quick reference. It is "intended for intermediate and advanced students, and for teachers of English," as it is stated in the introduction. I particularly enjoy the bright white of the paper and the use of a brown-red for the entries, whereas their explanations are in black, in bold type and cursive. There are also ten very interesting pages about "newspaper headlines" and useful information on "stress, rhythm and intonation," as well as "weak and strong forms."
I have a degree in foreign languages and literatures and have taught English for the last ten years. I think everyone who studies the English language should have this book on their shelves, next to their dictionaries, for whatever your grammar doubt is, you'll quickly find a solution to your problem.

it is recommended (20/25 people found this helpful)

when I started studying English at university,I was in great need to an English Grammar book.once I went to the liberary,and searching for that,I began having a look at all the grammar books in there,I met with Practical English Usage and dwelled on studying its content.I found everything amazing and helpful.What I like in this book most is details on ing-form,Articles,Tenses.
Honestly,I am feeling that my English is good by virtue of this book.I recommend all students to have it immediately and have reference to it when Grammar problem arises.
Yours Sincerely;
Amrani Djallal.
Radio Operator.

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