The 25 Rules of Grammar: The Essential Guide to Good English Paperback – October 1, 2016

I like it

Edit (2021): Just finished my second year studying linguistics at uni, and my conclusion is: It’s entertaining and easy to understand, so it fulfils its purpose of making grammar ‘rules’ more accessible as the author’s background in philosophy definitely shines through. Leaving it at 5 stars because it was an enjoyable read.Original review (2019): I really enjoyed reading this book! In fact, I read it in one go after I had loaned it from the library and decided I wanted to buy a copy to keep for myself.What's good:I found the book very entertaining and informative. English grammar is such a comprehensive topic that the author could never have squeezed every detail into 190 pages but I think this book does a great job of giving you a basic overview over several grammar topics. I'll definitely refer back to this book if I have any questions, and should the book not answer them I can always research a topic in more detail myself.What's not as good:It slightly annoyed me while reading, and I have to agree with former reviewer Mr. David Gilfillan, that the author does indeed use phrases such as "more simple" (instead of simpler) or "base form" instead of "infinitive" (and still puts "infinitve" in brackets right after). The other thing that I found a little irritating was that whenever he talked about "grammarians", it seemed to be in a slightly negative way - which didn't bother me the first or second time (and was quite entertaining) but started to irratate me every time after.Conclusion:I love this book. I love the content of this book so much that I'm happy to ignore the negative aspects. I know that "infinitive" is the right word, and if the author wants to go on about grammarians - let him. The author presents you with a clear and concise rule for each topic at the beginning, explains it in more detail after and reminds you of what you just read with a short summary at the end of each chapter. The book is well-organised, written in a comprehensible manner and contains lots of examples that help you understand how each rule works in practice. If you want to know the ins and outs of English grammar you'd of course need an additional few books but I definitely recommend this book as a starting point or reference book that gives you a great overview over several grammar topics. :)

A basic grammar book nothing beyond that

This was a gift for my nephew but I enjoyed reading the book before o posted it to Sri Lanka Many thanks

Entertaining and informative guide to grammar. Taken several lessons on board to improve my writing, it feels very much like Joseph Piercy is giving you a one-to-one tutorial on a subject he is extremely familiar with. Will be looking for more books by this author.