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The Oxford English Grammar
Written by one of the world's leading grammarians, The Oxford English Grammar is an authoritative review of and topic reference for English grammar.
Opening with an outline of national, regional, and social variation in English, the book details descriptive and prescriptive approaches and attitudes to English among both native and non-native speakers. This is followed by an account of the development of grammar, and a review of modern approaches to this complex subject. The central section of the book is a presentation of current English grammar at sentence, clause, phrase, and word level; with the last chapters covering grammar in relation to discourse, word-formation, lexis, pronunciation and intonation, punctuation, and spelling. A full index is provided, and examples of usage are drawn from a wide range of sources, including use of the new international Corpus of English at University College London. Written in a readable and absorbing style, The Oxford English Grammar is an essential reference for English speakers around the world.
Opening with an outline of national, regional, and social variation in English, the book details descriptive and prescriptive approaches and attitudes to English among both native and non-native speakers. This is followed by an account of the development of grammar, and a review of modern approaches to this complex subject. The central section of the book is a presentation of current English grammar at sentence, clause, phrase, and word level; with the last chapters covering grammar in relation to discourse, word-formation, lexis, pronunciation and intonation, punctuation, and spelling. A full index is provided, and examples of usage are drawn from a wide range of sources, including use of the new international Corpus of English at University College London. Written in a readable and absorbing style, The Oxford English Grammar is an essential reference for English speakers around the world.
668 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 13, 2025
I first met Sidney Greenbaum’s The Oxford English Grammar in 2004, though “met” feels too casual for what became a long, steady mentorship. I was at the stage of my teaching life when grammar was both a professional necessity and a personal puzzle — an ever-expanding maze of rules, exceptions, and contradictory advice.
Dictionaries were plentiful, style guides were useful, but I needed something more like a compass: something to keep me oriented when the terrain got tricky. Greenbaum’s book became exactly that.
It is, on the surface, a reference manual — crisp white pages, fine print, systematic headings. But over the years, it became more like a patient teacher who never tired of repeating an explanation or illustrating a point with another example.
Unlike many grammar books that seem to lecture from a distant pedestal, The Oxford English Grammar feels like a conversation with someone who assumes you are intelligent, curious, and capable of understanding, but who also knows you might need to see a rule from more than one angle before it clicks.
I remember the first time I truly put it to the test. A student had asked a deceptively simple question about the difference between the past perfect and the simple past. I could have given the textbook answer in under a minute, but something in the way she asked it made me want to go deeper.
I pulled out Greenbaum’s book that evening, intending to skim. Instead, I found myself reading through the entire chapter on tense and aspect, making notes in the margins, and realising that I had been teaching some points more by habit than by precise understanding.
By the next day’s lesson, I felt like I was not only answering her question but opening a door to a whole room of language she hadn’t seen before. That moment cemented my trust in the book.
Over time, it became my silent co-teacher. Preparing lessons on clauses, I would consult it like an oracle, and it always had a clear, authoritative answer — and more importantly, an example that felt grounded in real, contemporary English, not archaic constructs.
Its treatment of tricky topics — conditionals, subjunctive mood, articles — was precise without being pedantic. Greenbaum’s strength lay in knowing that rules are only half the story; usage and context are just as important.
The book also changed the way I saw my own language habits. Like most teachers, I carried a mix of formal grammar knowledge and instinctive “this just sounds right” intuition. But Greenbaum bridged that gap. His explanations validated my instincts when they were correct, and gently corrected them when they weren’t. I started to notice my own speech and writing with a sharper, more appreciative eye — not out of self-criticism, but out of the same curiosity the book fostered in my students.
What kept me returning to The Oxford English Grammar wasn’t just the answers it provided, but the confidence it gave me to guide others. Students quickly sense when a teacher is sure of their ground, and that assurance can make the difference between a hesitant explanation and a memorable lesson. I knew that if I checked a point in Greenbaum’s work, I could stand in front of a class the next day with clarity and conviction.
Nearly three decades on, the cover of my copy is worn, the pages are lined with underlinings and post-it flags, and yet the text still feels as fresh and relevant as it did in 1997.
The English language has evolved, but the principles and clarity in those pages remain constant. It’s been my quiet guide through shifting syllabuses, new teaching methods, and generations of students — a steady reminder that grammar isn’t a cage for language, but a framework that allows it to stand strong and move freely.
Some teachers leave the profession and pass on their well-used books; others keep a few treasured volumes for life.
The Oxford English Grammar will be with me as long as I teach, and probably long after — not just as a reference, but as the voice that shaped my own way of seeing, explaining, and loving the architecture of English.
Dictionaries were plentiful, style guides were useful, but I needed something more like a compass: something to keep me oriented when the terrain got tricky. Greenbaum’s book became exactly that.
It is, on the surface, a reference manual — crisp white pages, fine print, systematic headings. But over the years, it became more like a patient teacher who never tired of repeating an explanation or illustrating a point with another example.
Unlike many grammar books that seem to lecture from a distant pedestal, The Oxford English Grammar feels like a conversation with someone who assumes you are intelligent, curious, and capable of understanding, but who also knows you might need to see a rule from more than one angle before it clicks.
I remember the first time I truly put it to the test. A student had asked a deceptively simple question about the difference between the past perfect and the simple past. I could have given the textbook answer in under a minute, but something in the way she asked it made me want to go deeper.
I pulled out Greenbaum’s book that evening, intending to skim. Instead, I found myself reading through the entire chapter on tense and aspect, making notes in the margins, and realising that I had been teaching some points more by habit than by precise understanding.
By the next day’s lesson, I felt like I was not only answering her question but opening a door to a whole room of language she hadn’t seen before. That moment cemented my trust in the book.
Over time, it became my silent co-teacher. Preparing lessons on clauses, I would consult it like an oracle, and it always had a clear, authoritative answer — and more importantly, an example that felt grounded in real, contemporary English, not archaic constructs.
Its treatment of tricky topics — conditionals, subjunctive mood, articles — was precise without being pedantic. Greenbaum’s strength lay in knowing that rules are only half the story; usage and context are just as important.
The book also changed the way I saw my own language habits. Like most teachers, I carried a mix of formal grammar knowledge and instinctive “this just sounds right” intuition. But Greenbaum bridged that gap. His explanations validated my instincts when they were correct, and gently corrected them when they weren’t. I started to notice my own speech and writing with a sharper, more appreciative eye — not out of self-criticism, but out of the same curiosity the book fostered in my students.
What kept me returning to The Oxford English Grammar wasn’t just the answers it provided, but the confidence it gave me to guide others. Students quickly sense when a teacher is sure of their ground, and that assurance can make the difference between a hesitant explanation and a memorable lesson. I knew that if I checked a point in Greenbaum’s work, I could stand in front of a class the next day with clarity and conviction.
Nearly three decades on, the cover of my copy is worn, the pages are lined with underlinings and post-it flags, and yet the text still feels as fresh and relevant as it did in 1997.
The English language has evolved, but the principles and clarity in those pages remain constant. It’s been my quiet guide through shifting syllabuses, new teaching methods, and generations of students — a steady reminder that grammar isn’t a cage for language, but a framework that allows it to stand strong and move freely.
Some teachers leave the profession and pass on their well-used books; others keep a few treasured volumes for life.
The Oxford English Grammar will be with me as long as I teach, and probably long after — not just as a reference, but as the voice that shaped my own way of seeing, explaining, and loving the architecture of English.
March 13, 2018
Very Good Book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2019
best book
May 26, 2020
The most comprehensive grammar book I've ever read. I really liked it and abundantly benefited from it.
Read
April 29, 2017xsafcd
Read
January 28, 2018i am english learner
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews