I'm a foreigner who has never studied an English grammar book before and who now has the necessity to not only study the topic, but to know everything a good speaker should know. For this reason I would like to know what the most comprehensive grammar of English is.
asked Apr 12, 2019 at 22:09
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It may prove difficult to find a single book that will take you from "never studied an English grammar book" to "everything a good speaker should know".– HatchetCommented Apr 13, 2019 at 15:47
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2To whoever voted to close this question as "opinion based", please explain your reasoning. Comprehensiveness can be objectively compared by laying two or more grammars side by side and checking what they cover. Whether a grammar is aimed at EFL learners or not is explicitly stated on the cover and/or the preface.– Tsundoku ♦Commented Apr 17, 2019 at 9:31
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3 Answers
The most comprehensive grammar of the English language that I am aware of is The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language by Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum (Cambridge University Press, 2002). This doorstop of a book is 1860 pages long and I strongly advise against using this book as a resource for learning the grammar of English as a foreign language. This grammar is aimed at linguists, not at language learners.
Language learners should look at alternatives such as the following:
- Raymond Murphy: English Grammar in Use. Fifth edition. Cambridge University Press, 2019. This book is aimed at intermediate learners (levels B1-B2) and contains many examples and exercises. A version with an answer key is also available. Due to the level it is aimed at, it is obviously not "complete".
- Marting Hewings: Advanced Grammar in Use. Third edition. Cambridge University Press, 2013. This book is aimed at levels C1-C2.
- Evelyn P. Altenberg and Robert M. Vago: English Grammar: Understanding the Basics. Cambridge University Press, 2010. (281 pages) According to the publisher, "This handy introduction covers all the basics of the subject, using a simple and straightforward style. Students will find the book's step-by-step approach easy to follow and be encouraged by its non-technical language." The book has three parts. Part 1 focuses on "kinds of words", with chapters on nouns, verbs, determiners, adjectives, prepositions, etc. Part 2 focuses on "kinds of phrases", with chapters on prepostional phrases, verb phrases, auxiliary phrases, etcetera. Part 3 is about sententes.
- Michael Swan: Practical English Usage. Fourth edition. Oxford University Press, 2016. This book is organised as an A-Z dictionary of problem points.
- Geoffrey Leech, Jan Svartvik: A Communicative Grammar of English. 3rd edition. Pearson, 2003. (possibly out of print now)
- If you really insist on comprehensiveness, there is Cambridge Grammar of English: A Comprehensive Guide by Ronald Carter and Michael McCarthy (Cambridge University Press, 2006. This book contains over 970 pages (including the index); it does not contain exercises. It is aimed at very advanced learners and people who want to become teachers of English. It discusses many aspects of English grammar that you won't be able to find in the other books in this list.
answered Apr 13, 2019 at 18:06
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I was thinking of buying Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. What do you think? It's less linguist-oriented than the first Cambridge grammar you mentioned and maybe more comprehensive than the second? Commented Apr 27, 2019 at 12:47
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@DuarteAlfonsoMartin The Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English is a complement to A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (see this review, which says you can also use it on its own) and I would use it only as a reference if you can't find what you need in the grammars for learners of English as a foreign language.– Tsundoku ♦Commented Apr 27, 2019 at 18:58
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Christophe, the "Cambridge Grammar of English: A Comprehensive Guide" is said to be in British English on the store. Does it mean it covers this English more than American? Commented May 1, 2019 at 2:23
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@DuarteAlfonsoMartin Apologies for my late response. Cambridge Grammar of English: A Comprehensive Guide is indeed a grammar of British English. The most important differences between British and American English are described in an appendix, but if you need a grammar of American English, you'll need to look elsewhere.– Tsundoku ♦Commented Jun 6, 2021 at 21:45
I absolutely agree that the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language by Huddleston and Pullum is not meant for people learning English as a second or other language. The only one of the "thick" grammar books that is aimed at least in part at learners is Swan's Practical English Usage. But learners probably don't need a "big" grammar at all; one of the (rare) compact grammars such as Rossiter's Descriptive Grammar of English is more appropriate for most learners.
Don't ignore A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language by Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech and Jan Svartvik (Longman, 1985).
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That is or was a good grammar, but it is a bit dated now. The 1985 version was a revised and expanded edition of a grammar originally published in 1972.– Tsundoku ♦Commented Jan 1, 2023 at 16:32