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Garner's Modern English Usage
The most original and authoritative voice of today's English lexicography presents a fully revised new edition of his beloved usage dictionary
When Bryan Garner published the first edition of A Dictionary of Modern American Usage in 1999, the book quickly became one of the most influential style guides ever written for the English language. After four previous editions and over twenty years, our language has evolved in many ways, and the powerful tool of big data has revolutionized lexicography. This extensively revised new edition fully captures these changes, featuring a thousand new entries and over two hundred replacement entries, thoroughly updated usage data and ratios on word frequency based on the Google Ngram Viewer, a more balanced coverage of World Englishes, not just American and British, and the inclusion of gender-neutral language. However, one thing has not in no sense is this a "regular" dictionary but a masterpiece of lexicography written with wit and personality by one of the preeminent authorities on the English language. To put it in David Foster Wallace's words, Garner's discussion of rhetoric and style still "borders on genius."
From the (lost) battle between self-deprecating and self-depreciating to the misuse of it's for its, from the variant spelling patty-cake taking over pat-a-cake in American English to the singular uses of they, Garner explains the nuances of grammar and vocabulary and the linguistic blunders to which modern writers and speakers are prone, whether in word choice, syntax, phrasing, punctuation, or pronunciation. His empirical approach liberates English from two from the "purists" who maintain that split infinitives and sentence-ending prepositions are malfeasances and from the linguistic relativists who believe that whatever people say or write must necessarily be accepted.
The purpose of Garner's dictionary is to help writers, editors, and speakers use the language effectively. And it does so in a playful and persuasive way that will help you sound "grammatical but relaxed, refined but natural, correct but unpedantic."
When Bryan Garner published the first edition of A Dictionary of Modern American Usage in 1999, the book quickly became one of the most influential style guides ever written for the English language. After four previous editions and over twenty years, our language has evolved in many ways, and the powerful tool of big data has revolutionized lexicography. This extensively revised new edition fully captures these changes, featuring a thousand new entries and over two hundred replacement entries, thoroughly updated usage data and ratios on word frequency based on the Google Ngram Viewer, a more balanced coverage of World Englishes, not just American and British, and the inclusion of gender-neutral language. However, one thing has not in no sense is this a "regular" dictionary but a masterpiece of lexicography written with wit and personality by one of the preeminent authorities on the English language. To put it in David Foster Wallace's words, Garner's discussion of rhetoric and style still "borders on genius."
From the (lost) battle between self-deprecating and self-depreciating to the misuse of it's for its, from the variant spelling patty-cake taking over pat-a-cake in American English to the singular uses of they, Garner explains the nuances of grammar and vocabulary and the linguistic blunders to which modern writers and speakers are prone, whether in word choice, syntax, phrasing, punctuation, or pronunciation. His empirical approach liberates English from two from the "purists" who maintain that split infinitives and sentence-ending prepositions are malfeasances and from the linguistic relativists who believe that whatever people say or write must necessarily be accepted.
The purpose of Garner's dictionary is to help writers, editors, and speakers use the language effectively. And it does so in a playful and persuasive way that will help you sound "grammatical but relaxed, refined but natural, correct but unpedantic."
4853 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 3, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 21, 2024
I obviously haven't finished this yet (I'm still in the Bs...) but this is a fantastic reference. Read the other reviews on this thing if you don't believe me. An ENTERTAINING English usage guide??
And for me it's worth having just for the amazing essay at the beginning about the insult-slinging battles between descriptivists and prescriptionists.
And for me it's worth having just for the amazing essay at the beginning about the insult-slinging battles between descriptivists and prescriptionists.
April 22, 2016
Bryan Garner has a specific approach to language usage and Garner’s Modern English Usage, the fourth edition of his usage advice, teaches it to others.
I can’t fully endorse that approach, however. While Garner wants his recommendations to be “genuinely plausible,” recognizing the language “as it currently stands,” actual usage is at the bottom of his criteria and can easily be trumped by other criteria, not all of which are objective.
For example, the guide marks a word as undesirable if it is new, seeks to take over another word’s definition, or is simply a variant of another word. To me this is unreasonable. Why impoverish the language by assigning only one word to one meaning?
In English, there are often many answers, something many usage guides, Garner’s included, ignore. Only the quickly aging Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage (DEU) takes pains to point out those various answers. So when I use Garner’s, I compare it with DEU and other grammar and usage guides, and then I make a decision. It’s not the only book I consult, but it is an important one.
So how does the new edition compare to the previous?
To find out, read the full review at Copyediting.
I can’t fully endorse that approach, however. While Garner wants his recommendations to be “genuinely plausible,” recognizing the language “as it currently stands,” actual usage is at the bottom of his criteria and can easily be trumped by other criteria, not all of which are objective.
For example, the guide marks a word as undesirable if it is new, seeks to take over another word’s definition, or is simply a variant of another word. To me this is unreasonable. Why impoverish the language by assigning only one word to one meaning?
In English, there are often many answers, something many usage guides, Garner’s included, ignore. Only the quickly aging Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage (DEU) takes pains to point out those various answers. So when I use Garner’s, I compare it with DEU and other grammar and usage guides, and then I make a decision. It’s not the only book I consult, but it is an important one.
So how does the new edition compare to the previous?
To find out, read the full review at Copyediting.
November 22, 2022
GARNER'S MODERN ENGLISH USAGE is an elegant and invaluable reference book of astonishing depth and precision, and it grows stronger with each edition. It is also highly entertaining: witty, generous, and often playful, it rewards and enriches its reader's love of language, both written and spoken. One of my favorite books, and a constant companion.
January 25, 2025
I wish I could give this book more than five stars. An invaluable resource for anyone who writes.
March 29, 2017
Modern English Usage is an indispensable book for writers, editors, and those who give a damn about English. Along with Steven Pinker
, Amy Einsohn, and Carol Fisher Saller
, Garner
is one of the world's foremost authorities on the English language. In a world that takes its syntactic cues from the idiotic rantings of media personalities, sportswriters, and (mostly) guys on TV competing to see who can construct the most tautologies during 30-second bursts of inanity, Modern English Usage (formerly Modern American Usage) is a much-needed left hook aimed squarely at addled brains.
I use this book literally every day (and by "literally," I mean that I actually do). It's easily the best of its breed, with Garner its shepherd. Often unjustly accused of being a strict prescriptivist [partly because a large swath of readers either (a) think all things must be 100% black or 100% white or (b) don't like looking things up or changing prose they consider "supercute" simply because it's WRONG—screw those readers who think otherwise], Garner offers perspective and advice both constructive and actionable.
As for changes from the prior edition, the book includes over 1,000 new entries. Garner also procured rights to use Google Ngram charts and word-frequency ratios for many entries. He included a word-change index in the prior edition that numerically rated each word's status from verboten to fully accepted, but the addition of Ngram data adds validity and more context for entries.
Garner's measured wit is still readily evident, and usage examples continue to include plenty of published work by famous writers and famous people in general, which could be interpreted however one likes (I tend to interpret it to mean that many famous people are buffoons when they write, but I may be a little less charitable than most), but mostly they make for real examples in real settings, which is good for perspective at the very least.
I'm glad I was able to write this review without undue snarkiness or sarcasm. I seem to have a habit of that from time to time.
, Amy Einsohn, and Carol Fisher Saller
, Garner
is one of the world's foremost authorities on the English language. In a world that takes its syntactic cues from the idiotic rantings of media personalities, sportswriters, and (mostly) guys on TV competing to see who can construct the most tautologies during 30-second bursts of inanity, Modern English Usage (formerly Modern American Usage) is a much-needed left hook aimed squarely at addled brains. I use this book literally every day (and by "literally," I mean that I actually do). It's easily the best of its breed, with Garner its shepherd. Often unjustly accused of being a strict prescriptivist [partly because a large swath of readers either (a) think all things must be 100% black or 100% white or (b) don't like looking things up or changing prose they consider "supercute" simply because it's WRONG—screw those readers who think otherwise], Garner offers perspective and advice both constructive and actionable.
As for changes from the prior edition, the book includes over 1,000 new entries. Garner also procured rights to use Google Ngram charts and word-frequency ratios for many entries. He included a word-change index in the prior edition that numerically rated each word's status from verboten to fully accepted, but the addition of Ngram data adds validity and more context for entries.
Garner's measured wit is still readily evident, and usage examples continue to include plenty of published work by famous writers and famous people in general, which could be interpreted however one likes (I tend to interpret it to mean that many famous people are buffoons when they write, but I may be a little less charitable than most), but mostly they make for real examples in real settings, which is good for perspective at the very least.
I'm glad I was able to write this review without undue snarkiness or sarcasm. I seem to have a habit of that from time to time.
June 12, 2021
4 stars & 4/10 hearts. So, granted, I didn’t actually read a lot of this book. I bought it for college, and we read two-three essays and a few entires. Regardless, I definitely see it’s something very useful and that I will be consulting a lot. Garner has a very good perspective as a descriptivist prescriber, and his essays are very good. I shall probably update this review as I use this book more, but for now, it was quite worth buying, it’s well written, and it’s very interesting.
November 17, 2017
Superb.
As a Brit, Americanisms can grate; as can native speakers, at times, truth be told. I bear no ill will. We share a language that diverges and yet often converges owing to our connected world. Bryan brings much of our shared language together sensitively and absorbingly.
If you love language, then this book is a thing of beauty.
As a Brit, Americanisms can grate; as can native speakers, at times, truth be told. I bear no ill will. We share a language that diverges and yet often converges owing to our connected world. Bryan brings much of our shared language together sensitively and absorbingly.
If you love language, then this book is a thing of beauty.
December 9, 2022
Dipping in and out of this masterpiece makes me so happy.
July 16, 2019
Ten plus months at 5-10 pages per day and I have finally finished. This book, as one can imagine, is very informative. It is also, at times, quite amusing in a grammarian's manner. I did learn that I was mispronouncing (internally as I read) several words. I also came to realize that the words you read are not necessarily the ones that you use in speech.
July 4, 2023
I read this book because David Foster Wallace wrote about it. The best parts are the short essays on lexicographical evolution. I also learned the reasons for many usages that I knew already only from having encountered them in the wild.
January 9, 2025
the bible.
November 5, 2025
fire. i check it multiple times a day and have spent a few hours merely sitting and reading through it
January 5, 2021
This work is the best current usage guide to good English and may be the greatest usage guide ever written. Garner is to the 21st century what H.W. Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage was to the 20th. He fills the void left by modern dictionaries and guides that are too squeamish to give sound advice on speaking and writing good Standard English. I teach rhetoric and tell all my students: "If this book becomes a trusted, frequently consulted, lifelong friend to you, I shall count my time as your professor a success." There is an iPhone app for GMEU that is well worth adding to your digital library.
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July 10, 2023Mostly enjoying this but have a few niggles. For instance, I just think he's plain wrong about constructions such as "in an access of good spirits, the frat boys tipped 12 cows in one evening" that the "access" is a little-used but grammatical construction of long-standing. Undoubtedly those writing such sentences confused access with excess, intending "in an excess of good spirits," regardless of whether "access of good spirits" is grammatical or not.
But otherwise I completely defer to his good sense!
But otherwise I completely defer to his good sense!
January 3, 2024
Garner's Modern English Usage is a indispensable and pivotal resource for those who want to understand modern English and to write well. Not surprisingly, it is well written; however, it is also entertaining with witty commentary.
If you love English, just buy it.
As an aside, I also have Garner’s Modern English Usage app, which is available for iOS and Android platforms, and The Chicago Manual of Style. If you find Garner’s Modern English Usage helpful, you may want to look at these other two resources too.
If you love English, just buy it.
As an aside, I also have Garner’s Modern English Usage app, which is available for iOS and Android platforms, and The Chicago Manual of Style. If you find Garner’s Modern English Usage helpful, you may want to look at these other two resources too.
June 20, 2018
Superb reference for writers, English-language educators, and those who have an interest in the language itself. No, I did not read this cover to cover; I read only the “essay entries” that are listed in the front of the book. I expect I will be referring to this book on a regular basis; it’s useful and an impressive piece of scholarship.
January 8, 2019
Garner is the expert on standard, modern English grammar and usage. When you think you want to disagree or quibble with him, further thought usually renders your quibble or disagreement null. Wisdom, sensibility, and practicality fill Garner's remarks and guidance. I can't image writing and editing, esp. non-fiction materials, without consulting GMEU. Use it; it'll make you happy.
March 31, 2022
It's always a pleasure when I find I have to look up a word in this hefty book. Recommended for writers and editors who need to know how specific words are used and what forms are common enough to be used--or not.
July 23, 2017
authoritative book on English usage.
January 30, 2019
Absolute best English usage book available.
January 11, 2018
This is an unbelievably helpful book. An absolute necessity for academics and other writers.
Used only the 4th edition (2016): Garner's Modern English Usage (GMEU).
Used only the 4th edition (2016): Garner's Modern English Usage (GMEU).
June 18, 2020
Finally I finished this book!
January 19, 2021
Christianity has the Holy Bible. Islam has the Quran. Writers have Garner's Modern English. This is truly my bible.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews