The New Oxford Guide to Writing

Amazon.com

There is an apparently endless supply of books about writing. Very few of those books, surprisingly, offer a thorough and scholarly approach to the basics: words, sentences, and paragraphs. The New Oxford Guide to Writing does. According to author Thomas S. Kane, writing is "an exercise of mind requiring the mastery of techniques anyone can learn." Kane's not claiming he can create a genius, but, as he says in his introduction, "you don't have to be a genius to write clear, effective English." The writing that Kane refers to here is expository and persuasive in nature--writing most likely to be required in day-to-day life. In great detail Kane explores the building of an essay, the development of paragraphs, the styling of sentences, the use of diction, and, finally, issues of punctuation. It is unlikely that very many writers have scrutinized the building blocks of language the way Kane has, but it's never too late. Rare is the sourcebook that can offer so much both to beginners and experts alike. And anyone who loves words will thrill to encounter--if he or she hasn't done so already--the freight-train sentence, parataxis, the triadic sentence, polysyndeton, asyndeton, collocation, and zeugma. --Jane Steinberg

Book Description

Many books on writing tell you how to think more creatively, how to conjure up an idea from scratch. Many, once you have an idea, show you how to express it clearly and elegantly. And many handbooks offer reliable advice on the use of commas, semicolons, and so forth. But The New Oxford Guide to Writing does all three, so that no matter where you find yourself in the writing process--from the daunting look of a blank page, to the rough draft that needs shaping, to the small but important questions of punctuation--you will find what you need in one handy volume. Highlighted by numerous examples of successful prose--including marvelous, brief excerpts from Mark Twain, Joan Didion, H.L. Mencken, E.B. White, and Annie Dillard--this stimulating volume covers the entire subject step-by-step, clearly and authoritatively. It shows: * How to use commonplace books and journals to store ideas, how to brainstorm, how to explore a potential topic systematically * How to use a statement of purpose or an outline to give preliminary shape to your material, how to use drafts and revisions (and more revisions) to refine your ideas * How to open an essay clearly and interestingly, how to lead the reader subtly, how to use qualifications to express complexity without sacrificing impact * How to organize ideas into a coherent paragraph, how to vary sentence structure and length for variety and emphasis * How to select words that convey both information and point of view * And much, much more In addition, it contains a useful appendix on punctuation, ranging from commas and periods to underlining and capitalization. Whether you write for business or for pleasure, whether you are a beginner or an experienced pro, The New Oxford Guide to Writing is an essential addition to your reference library, providing abundant assistance and encouragement to write with more clarity, more color, and more force.

Customer Reviews:

I am terribly upset I didn't learn of it sooner........2005-01-03

It's great. Add it to a couple of books on basic grammar and usage and you're ducky.

Know all the techniques and why they work. Write with class........2001-07-20

This is the best book on writing I've read so far. It would be more precise to say this is a book on how to dress your thoughts in words most effectively.

I still remember an illustrative example somewhere in the initial pages. What is not so good about the sentence "She dresses in a beaatuful manner" ?. Well, it becomes more effective when written as "She dresses beautifully". In the long phrase "in a beautiful manner", the focus is dissipated over many words. Whereas, "beautifully" compresses meaning in one word and what's more, it sits at the end of the sentence, tending to stay in the reader's mind longer.

The book is full of such fine points and subtle techniques. Kane has taken a wonderfully orderly approach to teaching the writing process right from the basic element - the sentence, to the whole picture - the essay. Gradually building layer on layer, you see how the parts make the whole and how different aspects of writing contribute to the reader's final experience.

There are many meaningful exercises that will make you understand the huge number of tehcniques. Another important feature of the book is its examples of different types and styles of writing taken from a wide range of well known authors -Bertrand Russell, Samuel Johnson, E B White, Virginia Woolf, G K Chesterton, H G Wells, Mark Twain and so on. Kane takes each excerpt from these authors and explains why they work.

With a little effort, you can start writing almost as well as them, at least you'll know how those great authors thought before penning their ideas.

The book is set in very eye-pleasing font and well presented. Get the hardback if you can. If you're really interested in writing, this is a book you'll want to treasure.

The essential book for writing instructors.......2001-02-06

The New Oxford Guide to Writing is vastly superior to the grammar manuals and reference books that writing instructors usually assign their students. Kane doesn't merely prescribe rules for students to memorize; he imparts genuine understanding of the mechanics and conventions of good prose and takes you through the entire writing process, from facing a blank page to polishing a finished piece. By demystifying this process, Kane's guide empowers students to find their own voices and to keep improving their skills for years to come.

Everyone, from beginner to professional, should have a copy of this book.

Entertaining and useful.......1999-11-24

The entertaining aspect is the quotations illustrating various techniques of style. The useful aspect is the identification of many features of style unnoticed by me.

It may indicate the age of the author that on p. 32 he recommends "If you type .... Keep the keys clean and invest now and then in a new ribbon." He has no special advice for users of a word processor, and I'd guess he never used one. He refers to Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, which gives an idea of how new "new" is.

I'd put this book at a high-school to first-year college level. The author's style is that of a friendly and knowledgable advisor, pedantic at times, but usually not.

Book Description

An understanding of phonetics - of the mechanisms of speech, of how the sounds of language are produced, and of how they can be analysed and classified - is an essential acquirement for all those who have to deal with language and languages either theoretically or practically. This book is an introduction to general phonetics which explores the entire range of human sounds, systematically covering all types of modification of speech (breath, voice, whisper, creak, etc.), articulation (the ways in which the air stream is finally modulated to generate specific types of sound), and prosodic features (stress, syllable, tone, intonation, etc.). In addition, there is a chapter on sound systems - the ways in which particular languages utilize and systematize the universal sound-producing potential of man. The entire range of phonetic categories is introduced in 124 'experiments', to be carried out in the readrer's own vocal tract. In this way, the reader acquires a personal awareness of the principles of phonetic analysis and classification rather than a merely intellectual knowledge of them. This highly practical approach is informed throughout by recent research, particularly in the aerodynamics and acoustics of speech. NEW TO THE SECOND EDITION: New format and text design Updated usage of phonetic symobls in line with the most recent International Phonetic Alphabet Chart (1996) Revisions to 9 figures Text updated and clarified for ease of reading Revised further reading section with recent publications and more attention to aerodynamics, acoustics, and prosodies New references to the most important new publications

Customer Reviews:

Warning: Do not use this book when in a library.......2002-04-05

Next time you come across someone saying 'zzzz' and 'ssss' and 'zzzz' and 'ssss', better think twice before declaring that person nuts - he or she may actually be a student of phonetics having bought Catfords book!

Yes, when Catford says practical, he means practical. And phonetics, at least the articulatory side of it (which this book is all about), deals with producing sounds, not just reading about them.

If you've ever wondered what the strange signs in your average IPA chart actually stand for, then look no further. This book will teach you to produce all, and I mean ALL, the sounds of the phonetic alphabet, from the tips of your lips right down to your vocal folds.

But beware: Do not use this book in public or people might think you're nuts.

A brilliant introduction to phonetics.......2001-05-27

When I first got my copy of Catford's book, I was disappointed: The book simply looked to small!

But when I opened it, I was astonished. It's full of practical exercises that will enable you to familiarise yourself with your speech organs and will teach you to pronounce all the major sounds of the World's languages.

Throughout, Catford refers to major dialects of English, so it should be equally useful whether you're English, Scottish or American.

However, if English is a foreign language to you (as it is to me), some of the exercises may be a little more difficult than they were meant to be, but that's the only flaw I could find in this fine book.

Book Description

This is the fullest account ever published of Latin suffixes in English. It explores the rich variety of English words formed by the addition of one or more Latin suffixes, such as ial, -able, -ability, -ible, and -id. It traces the histories of over 3,000 words and reveals the range of
derivational patterns in Indo-European, Latin, and English. It makes an important contribution to the history of English and Latin morphology and etymology, as well as to the history of suffixal derivation in Indo-European.

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Good English
Very good, but not for those looking for funny books!
Good for a native English speaker
What a grammar book should be
Thorough treatment of English Grammar. Not a usage guide.

Oxford English Grammar Dictionary
Sidney Greenbaum
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0198612508

Book Description

Written by one of the world's leading grammarians, The Oxford English Grammar is a completely new book which combines an authoritative review of and topic reference for English grammar. Opening with an outline of national, regional, and social variation in English, the book details descriptive and prescriptive approaches, and attitudes to English amongst both native and non-native speakers. This is followed by an account of the development of grammar, and a review of modern approaches to this complex subject. The central section of the book is a presentation of current English grammar at sentence, clause, phrase, and word level; with the last chapters covering grammar in relation to discourse, word-formation, lexis, pronunciation and intonation, punctuation, and spelling. A full index is provided, and examples of usage are drawn from a wide range of sources, including use of the new International Corpus of English at University College London. Written in a readable and absorbing style, The Oxford English Grammar is an essential reference for English-speakers around the world.

Customer Reviews:

Good English.......2007-01-11

This book is excellent. It is over my expectation. The explanation is clear and completed.

I recommend it all of students and who have interesting to study English.

Very good, but not for those looking for funny books!.......2006-03-02

It's a very good grammar.

But for the learners (as me), Oxford have better options.

The advantage: this is a single volume, instead of 3 on learners grammar.

Much less interactive than the learner's material. The only real negative point.

Good purchase.

Good for a native English speaker.......2005-07-23

Interesting and complete: a book on English Grammar for curious native speaker.

If you are a foreign learner it's definitely not the best.

What a grammar book should be.......2002-10-25

As the other reviewer has said, this isn't a usage guide. It is partly a reference grammar, but also partly a textbook on the whole English language. Indeed, the title may be misleading, because most self-proclaimed grammars of English limit themselves to sentence-level syntax and a bit of morphology (inflections and such). Greenbaum includes chapters on phonology (the sounds of language) and morphology (word structure), and discourse (grammatical structure above the level of single sentences).

The material here is the most accurate you will find in a book directed at a general (non-linguistic) audience, and is essentially a condensed version of the material in *A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language*, of which Greenbaum was a co-author, and which remains the best one-volume reference grammar of English. It is a sad fact that most grammar books marketed to a general audience perpetuate factual inaccuracies about English grammar. Greenbaum gives you English the way it really works, without descending into the complexities of contemporary linguistic theory.
My one complaint about the book is not about its content but about its production quality. My copy, at least, is printed on cheap paper and the few graphics are not the sharpest. I expect more from a $45 book.

Thorough treatment of English Grammar. Not a usage guide........2000-01-26

I read this book from front to back. It is a thorough treatment of English grammar. For those looking for a usage guide- do not look here. It would probably serve as a good reference book for writers, teachers and non-linguistic scholars who would appreciate the abundance of examples given. For the average reader, they will tire of the enumeration of boring, useless-to-most-people aspects of grammar. On the other hand, if you're just curious about grammar, as I was, it can be very educational.

Oxford Fowler's Modern English Usage Dictionary

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The standard to which all the others are compared
The standard upon which the others are built
A great reference but not for the faint of heart
The classic usage guide; everyone should have one
A unique reference book

Oxford Fowler's Modern English Usage Dictionary
FOWLER , and Sir Ernest Gowers
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192813897

Amazon.com

A guide to precise phrases, grammar, and pronunciation can be key; it can even be admired. But beloved? Yet from its first appearance in 1926, Fowler's was just that. Henry Watson Fowler initially aimed his Dictionary of Modern English Usage, as he wrote to his publishers in 1911, at "the half-educated Englishman of literary proclivities who wants to know Can I say so-&-so?" He was of course obsessed with, in Swift's phrase, "proper words in their proper places." But having been a schoolmaster, Fowler knew that liberal doses of style, wit, and caprice would keep his manual off the shelf and in writers' hands. He also felt that description must accompany prescription, and that advocating pedantic "superstitions" and "fetishes" would be to no one's advantage. Adepts will have their favorite inconsequential entries--from burgle to brood, truffle to turgid. Would that we could quote them all, but we can't resist a couple. Here Fowler lays into dedicated:

He is that rara avis a dedicated boxer. The sporting correspondent who wrote this evidently does not see why the literary critics should have a monopoly of this favourite word of theirs, though he does not seem to think that it will be greatly needed in his branch of the business.

Needless to say, later on rara avis is also smacked upside the head! And practically fares no better: "It is unfortunate that practically should have escaped from its true meaning into something like its opposite," Fowler begins. But our linguistic hero also knew full well when to put a crimp on comedy. Some phrases and proper uses, it's clear, would always be worth fighting for, and the guide thus ranges from brief definitions to involved articles. Archaisms, for instance, he considered safe only in the hands of the experienced, and meaningless words, especially those used by the young, "are perhaps more suitable for the psychologist than for the philologist." Well, youth might respond, "Whatever!"--though only after examining the keen differences between that phrase and what ever. (One can only imagine what Fowler would have made of our late-20th-century abuses of like.) This is where Robert Burchfield's 1996 third edition comes in. Yes, Fowler lost the fight for one r in guerrilla and didn't fare too well when it came to quashing such vogue words as smear and seminal. But he knew--and makes us ever aware--that language is a living, breathing (and occasionally suffocating) thing, and we hope that he would have welcomed any and all revisions. Fowlerphiles will want to keep their first (if they're very lucky) or second editions at hand, but should look to Burchfield for new entries on such phrases as gay, iron curtain, and inchoate--not to mention girl. --Kerry Fried

Book Description

A standard reference work throughout the English-speaking world, this work is remarkable not only for the completeness of its information but for the wit and common sense with which it has been compiled.

Customer Reviews:

The standard to which all the others are compared.......2004-04-29

It is somewhat amazing that this book, first published in 1926, is still in print. The language has changed quite a bit since then; thousands of words have been added, hundreds have gone obsolete, and hundreds more have had their meanings shaded; and of course many of Fowler's pronouncements are now merely echoes of battles long lost or won. Not only that, but two newer editions of A Dictionary of Modern English Usage have been published, the excellent second edition edited by Sir Ernest Gowers in 1965 (now ironically out of print while the original finds yet another printing), and the not so entirely well-received (but underrated in my opinion) third edition, edited and revised by R.W. Burchfield in 1996.

How to account for this phenomenon? Part of it is because Fowler's reputation only grew after his death as several generations of writers sang his praises and adhered to, or sometimes fussed about, his many dicta on usage questions both great and small. And as the years went by, and as the pages of his masterpiece gave way to wine stains and silverfish or the few remaining copies disappeared from libraries, he himself became a legend. Not everything he wrote is considered correct today, nor was it then. And sometimes the succinct yet magisterial little essays he wrote were followed by other little essays that were all but impenetrable, obtuse and somewhat overbearing. No matter. The good greatly outweighed the occasional misjudgment, and the education he afforded us remains.

Another part of the story is that there is something very properly English and wonderfully nostalgic about the man himself. He was a bit of a character who lied about his age and joined the army when he was 56-years-old to fight the Germans in the Great War (only to faint on the parade grounds), a man who earlier gave up a teaching career because he did not feel it was his responsibility to prepare a student for the seminary. More than anything, though, the fact that this book is still in demand is a testament to the high regard and affection felt by the literate public toward Fowler himself.

What Fowler knew and preached was that before we could presume to be literary artists or journalists or even authors of readable letters we must of necessity, if we are to be effective, be craftsmen. Central to his purpose was the belief that the right word in its proper place and context constituted the backbone and much of the muscle and sinew of forthright and effective writing. That belief along with Fowler's celebrated passion for the concise and the correct, and his intolerance of ignorance and humbug, coupled with his sometimes incomparable expression, long ago won him the undying respect and admiration of careful writers of the English language the world over.

But this is something of a problem. Since Fowler last set pen to page some seventy-one years ago (he died in 1933), the English language has changed and grown enormously. What was correct and effective then, as well as what was ineffective, offensively brash or downright ugly has in some cases become acceptable and even felicitous. So, like it or not, Fowler had to be updated, and of course there was no shortage of lexicographers, linguists, grammarians, journalists and others looking to do the job. Furthermore, the "Great Divide" between American English and British English needed to be explained, recorded, and codified. Some of the people who have joined in this enterprise over the years have been H. L. Mencken, Jens Jespersen, Margaret Nicholson, Dwight MacDonald, Bergen and Cornelia Evans, and more recently, Bryan A. Garner and R.W. Burchfield, and many others. I think all of them, if they looked over their shoulder would see upon the wall an especially sober portrait of Fowler passing silent judgment upon their protracted labors. Certainly on their desks would be this book.

So I recommend that you buy that very impressive book by Garner (Garner's Modern American Usage), especially if you are an American, or splurge for a copy of that underrated third edition edited by Burchfield, and that you consult them as well as this venerable authority. As you use the books you may compare and contrast and get a nice feel for where the language has been and where it is headed.

The standard upon which the others are built.......2004-04-29

Before we presume to be artists or journalists or even readable purveyors of newsletters (or Internet blogs, for that matter) we must of necessity, if we are to be effective, be craftsmen.

Such a sentiment would, I imagine, sit well with Henry Watson Fowler who, some eighty years ago in collaboration with his younger brother Frank, wrote this famous book of English language guidance and prescription (and proscription!). Central to his purpose was the belief that the right word at the right time in its proper place and context constituted the backbone and much of the muscle and sinew of forthright and effective writing. That belief along with Fowler's celebrated passion for good writing and his intolerance of ignorance and humbug, coupled with his sometimes incomparable expression, long ago won him the undying respect and admiration of careful writers of the English language the world over.

And this has been something of a problem. Since Fowler last set pen to page some seventy-one years ago (he died in 1933), the English language has changed and grown enormously. What was correct and effective in 1926 (the year the 1st Ed. of A Dictionary of Modern English Usage was published), as well as what was ineffective, offensively brash or downright ugly has in some cases become acceptable and even felicitous. So, like it or not, Fowler had to be updated, and of course there was no shortage of lexicographers, linguists, grammarians, journalists and others looking to do the job. Furthermore, the "Great Divide" between American English and British English needed to be explained, recorded, and codified. Some of the people who have joined in this enterprise over the years have been H. L. Mencken, Jens Jespersen, Margaret Nicholson, Dwight MacDonald, Bergen and Cornelia Evans, and more recently, Bryan A. Garner and R.W. Burchfield (who edits the Third Edition of this book), and many others. I think all of them, if they looked over their shoulder would see upon the wall an especially sober portrait of Fowler passing silent judgment upon their protracted labors. Certainly on their desks would be this book.

And of course there is Sir Ernest Gowers who revised and edited this celebrated Second Edition. He writes in the Preface that the most important changes he had to make were those of vocabulary itself. "Words unknown in Fowler's day--teenager for instance--are now among our hardest worked." He adds that "Vogue words get worn out and others take their place." He admits to having omitted "one or two" of Fowler's famous little essays as being "no longer relevant to our literary fashions." (Would that he had preserved such specimens in an appendix.) He also allows that "many" of Fowler's "articles" called "for some modernization," and therefore, "a few have been rewritten in whole or part, and several new ones added."

So this is not your pristine Fowler's, yet so carefully did Gowers preserve and build upon that earlier edifice that most people have been quite pleased. In fact so nearly universal has been the admiration for this particular book that the so-called Third Edition of 1996, edited by the aforementioned Burchfield, has yet to receive universal acceptance and is indeed disparaged in some circles as not being true to the letter and spirit of Fowler.

For me two things stand out in this much admired Second Edition: (1) the absolute delight one finds in the many pronouncements on language; and (2) the odd but satisfying mix of the old-fashioned prescriptive grammarian commingled with someone who disdains pedantry for its own sake, and condemns what is seen as unnecessarily purist. Perhaps more than anything what one loves about this book is Fowler's incisive dry wit. Here is Fowler/Gowers on two words easily confused (those are my quotation marks since Amazon does not support the italics used in the original):

prescribe, proscribe. These words are often confused, especially by the use of "pro-" for "pre-." "Pro-" means to put outside the protection of the law, to denounce as dangerous; "pre-" means to lay down as a rule or direction to be followed. "If I look at the list of proscribed authors in our various universities, I notice with pleasure that since 1940 no year has passed without Jane Austen appearing in the syllabus of at least one." The speaker clearly did not mean, as one might infer from the word he used (or perhaps the printer substituted), that Jane Austen's works were on the Index.

Also of interest here is Gowers' Preface which amounts to an understanding and appreciation of Fowler and his work.

A great reference but not for the faint of heart.......2003-07-29

This work is witty and nearly unassailable, but I can't say that the uninitiated will find it accessible or as wine drinkers may say approachable. If you take pride in careful usage and want to make your writing precise, you can't go wrong here. If you've ever wondered how the words residence and residency both made their way into the language, the answer awaits you within these pages.

This isn't the place to get started with learning to write though. For those whose primary endeavor is not writing Strunk and White's Elements of Style or The Practical Stylist by Sheridan Baker will offer much to you on the practice of writing. These titles will also offer you many tips on constructing a piece of writing that you won't find in Fowler.

For those interested in a thorough treatment of usage and language you can't go wrong with Fowler though.

The classic usage guide; everyone should have one.......2002-09-10

Together with his and his brother's "The King's English," Fowler's "Modern English Usage" is the classic guide to writing good English. Those that say that Fowler is overly prescriptive are wrong; on the contrary, Fowler thinks less ill of split infinitives and prepositions-at-end than many more "modern" usage know-it-alls. I think that Fowler approaches writing in the English language as an engineer approaches designing a machine. The idea is "get the job done"---"how can I say this in the fewest words with the least ambiguity?" And that is what he teaches. Split infinitives aren't bad because they don't introduce ambiguity. The fused participle, on the other hand, introduces ambiguity, and should be avoided. "Good" Fowler English isn't just "proper" English, but English that is unambiguous and to the point.

Everyone that writes should have a copy of Fowler. But please, don't buy the "Third Edition," which isn't really Fowler. The second edition (edited by Gowers) is OK, but the first is really the nonpareil. The first edition is still in print (Wordsworth or a special Oxford reprint?) or you can buy it used---there are
lots of original Oxford University Press hardbacks floating around used here on Amazon[.com] that were pulled off high school shelves years ago.

A unique reference book.......2002-08-20

The historic quaintness of its grammar informs me and often makes me titter while reminding me of my birthright. No home should be without a copy no matter who the reader or their diction.

The Rise of the To-Infinitive (Oxford Linguistics)

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The Rise of the To-Infinitive (Oxford Linguistics)
Bettelou Los
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0199274762

Book Description

This book describes the historical emergence and spread of the to-infinitive in English. It shows that to + infinitive emerged from a reanalysis of the preposition to plus a deverbal nominalization, which spread first to purpose clauses, then to other nonfinite environments. The book challenges the traditional reasoning that infinitives must have been nouns in Old English because they inflected for dative case and can follow prepositions. Dr Los shows that as early as Old English the to-infinitive was established in most of the environments in which it is found today. She argues that its spread was largely due to competition with subjunctive that-clauses, which it gradually replaced. Later chapters consider Middle English developments. The author provides a measured evaluation of the evidence that to undergoes a period of degrammaticalization. She concludes that the extent to which to gains syntactic freedom in Middle English is due to the fact that speakers began to equate it with the modal verbs and therefore to treat it syntactically as a modal verb. The exposition is clear and does not assume an up-to-date knowledge of generative theory. The book will appeal to the wide spectrum of scholars interested in the transformation of Old to Middle English as well as those studying the processes and causes of syntactic change more generally.

The Grammar of Words: An Introduction to Linguistic Morphology (Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics)

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The Grammar of Words: An Introduction to Linguistic Morphology (Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics)
Geert Booij
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0199258473

Book Description

This text provides an up-to-date introduction to the morphological analysis of words. Morphology deals with the internal structure of words and how this structure affects their phonological, syntactic and semantic properties. This book covers both inflection (the different forms of a word), and word formation, the ways in which new words can be added to the vocabulary of a language. The enormous variety of morphological operations that we find in natural languages is quite intriguing. The first part of the book gives a cross-linguistic survey of these operations: affixation, compounding, reduplication, and several kinds of phonological operation. The specific properties of word formation and inflection are dealt with in subsequent chapters. The second part of the book focuses on the ways in which the morphological structure of words determines their phonological, syntactic, and semantic properties. These different 'interfaces' are dealt with systematically, again with illustrations from a number of languages. In the last part of the book the reader is introduced to present-day research on the acquisition of morphological knowledge, and on the way in which complex words are processed. This will give insight as to how lexical knowledge is structured and how it is stored in memory.

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great compact grammar guide
EVERY point of basic Russian grammar contained in this book.

Oxford Russian Grammar And Verbs
Terence Wade
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0198603800

Book Description

This brand-new grammar provides clear and simple explanations of today's written and spoken Russian. Comprehensive and easy to use, with coverage of all the key points of Russian grammar, it is the ideal reference tool for beginner and intermediate students, whether at school, college, or learning on their own. Thousands of examples in an instantly accessible layout show how the language works. The verb tables are clear and easy-to-use and all grammatical terms are explained in a glossary.

Customer Reviews:

great compact grammar guide.......2006-05-24

THis is a great compact Russian grammar book. It is very well organized and once you get used to the organization you can answer many common questions. It's great to have by the TV when watching a movie.

The main advantage is it's compact size, organization, accuracy and cost (you can afford to even have more than one copy so it's always handy).

Like all Russian grammar books, it's very weak on coloquial Russian, especially on particles, elliptical sentences, sentence structure and many aspects of how grammar interacts in Russian across sentences and between parties of a conversation. It's my opinion that none of the non native speaking authors understand how this part of Russian works. The explanations never hold water and I've figured out a lot of it myself and the things I've figured out are not in any grammar book, including the ones from Russia.
In general, native speakers understand it all from being exposed to it from childhood and they don't conceptualize it well to non native speakers either. The non native speakers are generally clueless as to how it works.

Coloquial russian though is not street slang but how people talk in real life, at the office, at the market.

It's not a deep Russian grammar book but the bigger ones rarely answer the tougher questions either.

EVERY point of basic Russian grammar contained in this book........2004-07-02

Despite its size, Oxford Russian Grammar and Verbs can be VERY daunting, as it contains EVERY aspect of Russian grammar in its 250 pages. This book is probably best suited for intermediate/advanced learners, but it can also be VERY beneficial for beginners as well if they take it slow. Russian grammar is very complicated with a number of cases, and having it all laid out in one book has been more than just helpful to me. I have been doing the Pimsleur audio Russian courses, which offer little to no grammatical explanation. Upon completion of these kinds of audio courses, you will be able to speak within the confines of what you have learned, but you would not be able to predict which forms to use at what time. The audio courses explain what words mean, but not the underlying grammatical concepts.

Take, for example, the word 'DOKTOR' (doctor)...the audio tapes have told me that when I say 'I'm looking for a doctor', I have to use 'DOKTOR-A'. What they DIDN'T tell me, however, is that 'DOKTOKR-A' is the GENETIVE form of the noun, and that the genetive must always be used with verbs expressing 'seeking'. This book has been the key to unlocking the mysteries that the audio tapes wouldn't fill me in on. In it, they explained about this use of the genetive, as well as other uses, and all the other cases as well. Detailed sections on each part of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, particles, etc.) clearly explain the different cases and genders, and how they are used with and affect the meaning of each part of speech in question. Some linguistic foreknowledge is probably necessary to get the full benefit of this book, but fortunately a linguistic glossary in the back can allow learners to 'catch up as they go'. Believe me, I would be VERY frustrated with the audio series by now if not for this book.

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Creative activity books for young children.

Oxford Latin Course: Part III (Oxford Latin Course)

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excellent

Oxford Latin Course: Part III (Oxford Latin Course)
Maurice Balme , and James Morwood
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0199120927

Customer Reviews:

excellent.......1998-12-06

this textbook is as good as it gets. unusually attractive, generously illustrated, yet at the same time highly challenging, the oxford course is a major success at textbook writing. after studying this course one gets a comprehensive view of roman history and culture, in addition to a knowledge of the language. and the narrative about horace at the center of this course reads like a novel.

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