Practical English Usage Paperback – Import, January 1, 1980

This is a very useful English grammar, I like itand had bought another two copies sending tomy son and a good friend for learning English.

Excellent layout and examples, all based on how English is used in practice. Very good reference for teachers.

The product was in great condition!

What I like about this book:For anyone learning English as a Second Language, or anyone who has to teach it, this book is indispensable. It covers issues of usage, not grammar (eg: When is the present perfect tense used, not how to form it.) It is designed for international students etc. as can be seen in the entries on 'false friends' like 'sympathetic' with reference to other European languages. I love the way Swan deals with language as it is actually used (he weighs in on the who/whom debate by giving details on what people do say, rather than what they ought. Other good features include a list of swear-words with a rating to help give an indication of their strength. As a native English speaker, I too have found this book very useful (it is slowly teaching me the monstrous spelling rule and irregularities of the English language).What I dislike about this book:Can't fault it. Perhaps the SMS abbreviations are quite dated even a couple of years on. But documenting in print youth abbreviations in Email/SMS etc. are a problem with no solution.Where to from here:'Practical' 'English' Usage'. It does everything it says on the box, and does it well. If that is what you need, this is the book you need.

I found this book to be very useful during a Pre-intermediate ESOL class I was observing. Whilst the class were working and I were taking down some notes, Joanna (the teacher) kindly handed me Practical English Usage by Michael Swan. I thanked her, but thought aw yeah, this is going to be another one of those grammar books (where everything id hard to find. As I opened it though, I found it surprisingly easy to use. So much so, that I quickly noted down the book's name and author in bold.I looked in all the book stores in Browns Bay for it and disappointingly realizing this would be a specialized book order, went home and had to ordered it online.Thanks. This book will come in very handy in my future as an ESOL teacher.

I found this book very useful while teaching English classes. It helped me to explain many rules used in the English language. This book is a must-have for English teachers.

There is truly no other book like it. It categorizes Common English Usage so easily that you can look up "over" and find what the difference is between "over" and "above". It explains things very clearly and I must say I have not run across any explanation than seems unclear or lacks detail. I used this book heavily while teaching English in Hungary and it is an excellent book for teachers to have, as well as learners of English. I must say though it is a rather advanced book in the sense that someone who does not understand basic English grammar already might have some problems with the explanations. Have fun reading guys!

This book was very helpful in helping me design practice lesson plans while studying for my TEFL certificate. I’ll use it for many years from now whenever I have difficulty explaining any part of English grammar to ESL students.

The authority on English grammar and indispensable for any English language teacher, this book is a must. References are NOT of page numbers but paragraph sections and so the format, at first, can be off-putting. But once a person gets the hang of it, it is the best guide for English grammar I know of. The way it is organised - alphabetically - makes it easy to find what you want using the index; and the examples are concise but effective enough to get the message across. Included are supplementary pages of common mistakes made by basic, intermediate, advanced and very advanced students of English and what is correct, which I have not seen in any other textbooks. Has really opened up a new world for me with the English language, and shown me why I say certain things the way I do and what mistakes I am making. Well worth the price.

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!

The book is really helpful for native english speakers wen doing advanced esl course such as the celta or delta. Many of us take grammar for granted as we are not exposed to all types while in schools compare to foreign speaking nationals. A great book to help with English grammar.Great for Grammar and studying for ur celta or delta

This book is the one book I bought during my CELTA course that I couldn't have done without. Other books are exhaustive and confusing (Parrot's Grammar for ELT teachers for example), but this is very accessible for swift reference and just getting your head around things. I could not have done my language focus task without it. It is also designed for advanced students.

Disappointing. Delivery was great just the content isn’t that great. Looked up infinitives and found the definition was unclear