Books

There are so many grammar books available and it’s important to find one that suits you. I’ve provided links to my books below and I’ll reference other books that I have found particularly helpful.

Mastering Advanced English Language

This is a brief introduction to grammar with most of the text dedicated to chapters on key areas of language. The book addresses spoken and written language, historical change, language variation, child language, and a range of text types. There are lots of examples and commentaries to demonstrate how to use terminology. The focus is on applying linguistic knowledge to explore how meaning is created.

Mastering Practical Grammar

This has a more detailed focus on grammar and terminology. Starting with word classes and moving through phrases, clauses and sentences to discourse, it is designed to make you feel confident about how to recognise and describe key language features. The text-based tasks provide a range of opportunities to explore the linguistic features of different text-types, with notes and commentaries to suggest how terminology can be best used in analysis.

The exercises on this blog are designed to run alongside the chapters of Mastering Practical Grammar.  They offer the opportunity to test your ability to recognise and describe key language features.

Mastering Poetry

This starts by exploring approaches to poetry in terms of distinctive features, poetic form, style, and literary and rhetorical devices. What follows is an overview of  the English poetic tradition, setting poems in their historical and literary context. The focus is on close reading and on understanding how poets use language to express their ideas. There are lots of examples and commentaries suggesting possible readings.