Basic English Grammar

Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable book of grammar exercises
Review: Grammar tends to be a boring topic, still it's something you must learn to speak a language well. Eastwood's book is an exception: the exercises are so cleverly written and so different from one another that you can actually ENJOY YOURSELF while learning English grammar. Enough said, try it!

You can use the book for self-study or for classes. (I used it for self-study and did most of the exercises. It helped me an awful lot.)

As for the grammatical review part, it is also excellent (See my review on " A Basic English Grammar" by Eastwood and Mackin)

Rating:
Summary: The best grammar book for intermediate level students
Review: Of all the English grammar books I know, this is the BEST one for INTERMEDIATE level students (that is, for those who know some English but need a systematic review of the grammar).

Eastwood and Mackin's book is PRACTICAL: it contains most of the things necessary in everyday speech or simple writing, but not more. The structuring of the chapters is great: on the left you find SENTENCES illustrating the key point, on the right they are EXPLAINED IN A SIMPLE WAY.

I recommend that you GET THE EXERCISE BOOK too (A Basic English Grammar Exercises by J. Eastwood) and use them together: do the exercises, check your answers and if you made many mistakes, review the corresponding chapter from the grammar book. I used this method for self-study and I found it very efficient.

Although Basic English Grammar does teach you the vast majority of the practical grammar, you may also want to get "Practical English Usage" by Michael Swan to check some of the more advanced points that you come across now and then. These three books are all you'll ever need on English grammar, unless you want to be professional in English (like a translator, university professor, etc.).

Warning: contrary to what the publisher says, Basic English Grammar is NOT FOR BEGINNERS! Since all the explanations are in English, those who cannot read English relatively fluently, may find studying from this book frustrating. I believe beginners should learn from books that explain the basics of grammar in their native language.