Given that this is the fourth edition of Practical English Usage (henceforward: PEU), my first instinct while preparing to write this review was to go and search for the ELTJ reviews of the former three. To my amazement, I have discovered that there are none. The lack, to my mind at least, is not a case of a major oversight, but rather a reflection of the unique status of PEU as one of the few instant classics in our field, the ultimate reference book for a great many professionals, and an all-time favourite title on their grammar shelf.
Biccardi' sbooklabel (rare), £2. 1292 Another (? Large Paper) Copy, contemporary English calf (rebacked), with old auto. In gothic characters (very rare), £1. Mathematics, Nancy) Elements de Mathematiques Superieures h l'Usage des. 1298 Treatise of Algebra, both Historical and Practical, with some Additional.
The main marketing slogan, featured on the PEU back cover, is that it is ‘your indispensable guide...
© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.
This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model)
You do not currently have access to this article.
Practical English Usage is a standard reference book aimed at foreign learners of English and their teachers written by Michael Swan.
Published by Oxford University Press, it has sold over 2 million copies since the first edition was published in 1980.[1] A new, and greatly extended second edition was published in 1995. A third edition was released in 2005, and a fourth in 2016.
Feature[edit]
It features basic descriptions of English grammar and usage as well as highlighting various words which are often problematic for non-native speakers. Although the model is basically British English, it explains some of the stylistic differences between British and American usage.
The third edition also takes into account some of the most recent changes within British English, particularly the commonisation of various American English forms (such as the use of like as a conjunction - e.g. like I do).
Influences[edit]
In his Acknowledgements for the first edition, Swan refers to the aid given him by 'various standard reference books - in particular, the splendid A Grammar of Contemporary English, by Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech and Svartvik' (Longman 1972), and in the second edition, to 'the monumental A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language' (Longman 1985), by the same authors.
See also[edit]
Similar works[edit]
- The Complete Plain Words by Ernest Gowers
- A Dictionary of Modern English Usage by H. W. Fowler
References[edit]
- ^'Practical English Usage'. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Practical_English_Usage&oldid=930932931'