Essential English Grammar (Dover Language Guides Essential Grammar) by Philip Gucker
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Book Reviews of Essential English Grammar (Dover Language Guides Essential Grammar)
Book Review: Good for TOEFL preparation
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought it for a friend and she is finding is quite helpful.Book Review: Very average. There are better grammar books out there.
Summary: 3 Stars
This book isn't bad. I'll give it that, but in the world of grammar workbooks, there are much better paths you can take.
I'm going to compare this book to what I have still found to be the best grammar book around: Grammar to Go by Goldstein, Waugh, and Linsky. Grammar to Go comes at a more expensive price, but it's more comprehensive and explains grammar without lulling you to sleep.
One of the biggest problems I have found with this book is that it actually has its own grammatical errors. The author will have comma splices within his own explanations and will (because it was written in 1966) often use phrases that are out-of-date. Sure, he may be correct about what a noun is, but he is not leading by example with the whole world of grammar. If you're looking to perfect your grammar usage, this will only get you to the tip of the iceberg.
Grammar to Go meanwhile details sentence diagramming beyond the beginning steps (essential for learning proper grammar) and builds off your previous lessons in a cohesive way so that you actually are able to apply what you've learned before to the current exercise. Most importantly it has space to write on! Good luck working inside Glicker's Essential English Grammar unless you have handwriting the size of a mouse; if you want to do the exercises and actually read your answers, you'll need to write on a separate piece of paper, which often defeats the purpose of this "handy" "on-the-go" book.
Again, this isn't a horrible grammar book, but I've seen at least three other ones out there that will give you the same comprehensive background of grammar, same amount of exercises, and will be more up-to-date with much more engaging reading. You get what you pay for, which is why this book is so cheap.
Book Review: cover blurb exact
Summary: 3 Stars
"Essential English Grammar" is just that: essential, i.e. basic. I found the cover blurb ("all the grammar really needed for speech and comprehension [...] for a beginner, as a refresher") to be true, for it is indeed a book designed for these individuals. This book is well organized and guides the reader/learner along nicely. And let's not forget the helpful exercises with the answer key at the back of the book.Book Review: great stuff, but a little dry
Summary: 3 Stars
The book is logically organized and has many good examples. It is quite comprehensive and technical in nature, but reading it can be a little dry when compared with books such as the "painless grammar".