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Fundamentals of English Grammar
The Azar Grammar Series offers concise, level-appropriate grammar presentation with a variety of written exercises and communicative classroom activities. Included are both student-centred pair and group work.
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
181 people are currently reading
3376 people want to read
About the author
Betty Schrampfer Azar
174 books155 followersBetty Azar is a teacher and the author of several English grammar workbooks that are a staple in the ESL teaching industry.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
January 19, 2026
Mission 2026: Binge reviewing all previous Reads, I was too slothful to review back when I read them
Betty Schrampfer Azar’s 'Fundamentals of English Grammar' feels less like a book I once studied and more like a classroom I once lived in, complete with the quiet discipline, repetition, and gradual clarity that only sustained teaching can produce. Revisiting it now, I’m struck by how deliberately unglamorous it is, and how much that plainness is its greatest strength. This is not a book that seduces; it trains.
Azar writes with the patience of someone who has watched thousands of learners stumble over the same problems and has learned not to rush them toward sophistication before foundations are secure.
The structure is incremental and almost stubbornly systematic: tenses unfold slowly, forms are drilled until they settle into muscle memory, and explanations are pared down to what a learner actually needs at a given stage. There is little theoretical flourish here, but an immense pedagogical intelligence.
What I value most, in retrospect, is its respect for confusion. The exercises anticipate error, invite it, correct it gently, and then ask the learner to try again. English, in this book, is not a performance but a practice.
The clarity of charts, the consistency of terminology, and the relentless focus on usage over abstraction make it especially humane for non-native speakers, who are often overwhelmed by rule exceptions and stylistic nuance too early. Compared to more advanced grammars, this book does not pretend that language is freedom; it insists first on discipline. Yet that discipline is never punitive. It is reassuring, almost maternal in tone, guiding learners step by step toward confidence.
Teachers often underestimate how rare such balance is: firm without being harsh, simple without being condescending. While it may feel repetitive to advanced users, that repetition is precisely why it works in classrooms across decades and continents. This is not a book one outgrows so much as one stands upon.
Returning to it reminds me that fluency is built not on brilliance, but on patient accumulation.
Most recommended for teachers and students alike.
Betty Schrampfer Azar’s 'Fundamentals of English Grammar' feels less like a book I once studied and more like a classroom I once lived in, complete with the quiet discipline, repetition, and gradual clarity that only sustained teaching can produce. Revisiting it now, I’m struck by how deliberately unglamorous it is, and how much that plainness is its greatest strength. This is not a book that seduces; it trains.
Azar writes with the patience of someone who has watched thousands of learners stumble over the same problems and has learned not to rush them toward sophistication before foundations are secure.
The structure is incremental and almost stubbornly systematic: tenses unfold slowly, forms are drilled until they settle into muscle memory, and explanations are pared down to what a learner actually needs at a given stage. There is little theoretical flourish here, but an immense pedagogical intelligence.
What I value most, in retrospect, is its respect for confusion. The exercises anticipate error, invite it, correct it gently, and then ask the learner to try again. English, in this book, is not a performance but a practice.
The clarity of charts, the consistency of terminology, and the relentless focus on usage over abstraction make it especially humane for non-native speakers, who are often overwhelmed by rule exceptions and stylistic nuance too early. Compared to more advanced grammars, this book does not pretend that language is freedom; it insists first on discipline. Yet that discipline is never punitive. It is reassuring, almost maternal in tone, guiding learners step by step toward confidence.
Teachers often underestimate how rare such balance is: firm without being harsh, simple without being condescending. While it may feel repetitive to advanced users, that repetition is precisely why it works in classrooms across decades and continents. This is not a book one outgrows so much as one stands upon.
Returning to it reminds me that fluency is built not on brilliance, but on patient accumulation.
Most recommended for teachers and students alike.
July 29, 2010
I've used the first, second, and third editions of this book for a number of years in ESL classes taught at a community college. In general, this is an excellent grammar text, although many instructors I know have issues with the "fill in the blank" exercises that are the backbone of this text. However, I think the presentation of the grammar in chart form is brilliant. It's not infallible -- nor is it always a "stand-alone" approach, but having the grammar at one's fingertips in concise charts is far easier for both student and instructor than having it in other forms I've seen.
One issue, which is not an insignificant one, is that students have to master a certain amount of grammar terminology before they have a prayer of using this book effectively. A little assistance in this area would not go amiss -- perhaps an introductory "pre-lesson" on what a noun, verb, auxiliary verb, and so on are? It's a little complex, for if a student understands what a "clause" is, then presumably he or she already has grasped concepts that are later presented in the lessons. It's a chicken-or-egg question that perennially pops up with this sort of grammar text.
One issue, which is not an insignificant one, is that students have to master a certain amount of grammar terminology before they have a prayer of using this book effectively. A little assistance in this area would not go amiss -- perhaps an introductory "pre-lesson" on what a noun, verb, auxiliary verb, and so on are? It's a little complex, for if a student understands what a "clause" is, then presumably he or she already has grasped concepts that are later presented in the lessons. It's a chicken-or-egg question that perennially pops up with this sort of grammar text.
November 30, 2019
Best Grammar book out there! This was a school staple and I always go back to it to touch up my Grammar.
March 9, 2015
The best book I've read on English Grammar.
Clear, simple and contain a lot of worth examples and exercises.
من أفضل كتب قواعد اللغة الإنجليزية، أعتبره مرجع شامل لجميع القواعد بلا استثناء.
يمتاز بالوضوح والشمولية وروعة التقسيم، وغناه بالأمثلة>
غالبية القواعد فيه على هيئة جدول، يستخدم في شرحه المصطلحات الشائعة بدون تعقيد ويتميز بالاختصار الشديد الغير مخل مما يوفر سرعة الوصول إلى المعلومة عند الحاجة.
هذا الكتاب زادني حباً بتعلم اللغة الإنجليزية
Clear, simple and contain a lot of worth examples and exercises.
من أفضل كتب قواعد اللغة الإنجليزية، أعتبره مرجع شامل لجميع القواعد بلا استثناء.
يمتاز بالوضوح والشمولية وروعة التقسيم، وغناه بالأمثلة>
غالبية القواعد فيه على هيئة جدول، يستخدم في شرحه المصطلحات الشائعة بدون تعقيد ويتميز بالاختصار الشديد الغير مخل مما يوفر سرعة الوصول إلى المعلومة عند الحاجة.
هذا الكتاب زادني حباً بتعلم اللغة الإنجليزية
October 12, 2013
كل القواعد تلاقيها في هذا الكتاب
و تدخل المعلومة بسرعة و سهل انك تتعلم منه
حبيت الكتاب و مستحيل أفرط فيه و راح أتعلم القواعد دائمآ منه..
انصح فيه لطلاب اللغة الإنجليزية واللي حاب يتعلم لقواعد اللغة
و فيه منه تكون الإجابات خلف الكتاب حلو انك تقتنيه و تحل بنفسك التمارين
بعدين تتأكد من حلك..
و تدخل المعلومة بسرعة و سهل انك تتعلم منه
حبيت الكتاب و مستحيل أفرط فيه و راح أتعلم القواعد دائمآ منه..
انصح فيه لطلاب اللغة الإنجليزية واللي حاب يتعلم لقواعد اللغة
و فيه منه تكون الإجابات خلف الكتاب حلو انك تقتنيه و تحل بنفسك التمارين
بعدين تتأكد من حلك..
November 2, 2011
This book is very much useful to me both in my studies and work.
Want to read
January 5, 2013I don't know
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2014
I read this book when I was still junior high, and for me this is the best grammar book ever.
Read
January 23, 2011Fundamentals of English Grammar (2nd edition)
February 21, 2011
easy to understand..
June 6, 2011
Very great book for explain all the confusing grammar!!!!!!
Read
October 16, 2012good
Read
December 10, 2012i would like learn about grammar
May 10, 2020
I want to learn English
June 3, 2020
3.5 stars. Good for brushing up on your Basic English Grammar.
June 23, 2020
This is the best book for bigger
October 9, 2023
REVISED BOOK. I was using this book for the creation of my notebook with all the knowledge about grammar, based on the activities as in the theoretical part and its examples. This grammar book is complete since it contains activities of each topic and subtopic, also a section where the answer keys are, the only thing that this book does not have are grammar parts in listening or activities where you can use the audio for activities related to grammar topics, however all the.content of this book is complete.
December 2, 2024
I still don't understand English 🗿
January 10, 2026
excellent resource for English grammar. my copy has many saved tabs.
Read
October 25, 2007Learn how to write real good.
July 3, 2009
Lots of exercise styles for intermediate/advanced learners. My only complaint is the confusing answer key at the back.
Want to read
January 17, 2010i want to improve my english skill
March 12, 2011
أفضل كتاب لفهم قواعد الإنجليزي .
October 21, 2011
Clear enough to understand
Read
July 5, 2013learn about grammar
February 10, 2014
great, simple, ideal for review
Read
April 9, 2014nose
Read
February 13, 2015i need this book
Want to read
October 15, 2015ifughloihg
June 16, 2016
How can I read this book?? I can't open for read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews