What do you think?
Rate this book
Introduction to English Grammar
One of the clearest and most straightforward introductions to English Grammar written by two of the most distinguished grammarians in the world, the late Sidney Greenbaum and Gerald Nelson.
Pedagogical features throughout which increase the focus on grammar - "Usage Notes"
End of chapter exercises provide opportunity for students to test themselves
New companion website provides feedback on contentious issues, plus more exercises
Pedagogical features throughout which increase the focus on grammar - "Usage Notes"
End of chapter exercises provide opportunity for students to test themselves
New companion website provides feedback on contentious issues, plus more exercises
296 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1997
26 people are currently reading
329 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 10, 2022
This book is a good and comprehensive introduction to English grammar. Exercises and Notes still to be written.
January 10, 2019
This book had surprisingly sloppy handling of examples and underlining/italics.
For example in ch. 7: the example says “I wish I could feel relaxed about [...]” whereas the text discussing the example claims in all three instances that it says “I wish I could feel more relaxed about [...]”. In the place, while discussing the subordinate clause “I could feel more relaxed” the book doesn’t underline the personal pronoun in its first mention, but includes it in the next two places.
There are many other mistakes like this scattered though the book, which is doubly frustrating seeing as this is a book about grammar. There are also an astounding number of mistakes, so I’m almost tempted to congratulate them on getting them all through multiple editions.
On a more positive note, the actual contents are informative, and the examples used do actually illustrate the points well.
For example in ch. 7: the example says “I wish I could feel relaxed about [...]” whereas the text discussing the example claims in all three instances that it says “I wish I could feel more relaxed about [...]”. In the place, while discussing the subordinate clause “I could feel more relaxed” the book doesn’t underline the personal pronoun in its first mention, but includes it in the next two places.
There are many other mistakes like this scattered though the book, which is doubly frustrating seeing as this is a book about grammar. There are also an astounding number of mistakes, so I’m almost tempted to congratulate them on getting them all through multiple editions.
On a more positive note, the actual contents are informative, and the examples used do actually illustrate the points well.
May 15, 2021
English
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2025
le subiré la calificación si apruebo lingüística XD
January 16, 2026
Mission 2026: Binge reviewing all previous Reads, I was too slothful to review back when I read them
Sidney Greenbaum’s 'An Introduction to English Grammar' is the kind of book that quietly rearranges your relationship with language without ever pretending to be exciting, and yet, in retrospect, it feels oddly revelatory. Reading it was like being handed a clean, well-lit room after years of navigating grammar through intuition, habit, and half-remembered school rules. What impressed me most was Greenbaum’s refusal to mystify grammar: there is no grand theory being sold, no ideological axe to grind, just a patient, systematic attempt to show how English actually works. The prose is spare but humane, technical without being hostile, and grounded in examples that feel lived-in rather than artificially constructed. This is not grammar as punishment or moral order; it is grammar as description, as mapping. I found myself appreciating how much intellectual discipline it takes to be this clear without becoming simplistic. At times, the book feels almost old-fashioned in its restraint, especially when set against more flamboyant linguistic frameworks, but that restraint is its strength. Greenbaum trusts the reader’s intelligence and does not rush the payoff. The sections on clause structure and verb complementation, in particular, sharpened my sense of how much meaning depends on architecture rather than vocabulary. If there is a limitation, it lies in the book’s pedagogical neutrality: it doesn’t ask why grammar matters culturally or politically, only how it functions. For some readers, that may feel like an evasion; for me, it felt like a necessary foundation. This is a book that doesn’t flatter you, but it also doesn’t condescend. It asks for attention, rewards patience, and leaves you with a heightened respect for the quiet complexity of everyday sentences. Long after finishing it, I noticed myself reading ordinary prose more slowly, more attentively, and more aware of the invisible scaffolding holding meaning in place. That lingering attentiveness may be the most convincing argument Greenbaum makes for why grammar, taught well and honestly, still matters.
Most recommended.
Sidney Greenbaum’s 'An Introduction to English Grammar' is the kind of book that quietly rearranges your relationship with language without ever pretending to be exciting, and yet, in retrospect, it feels oddly revelatory. Reading it was like being handed a clean, well-lit room after years of navigating grammar through intuition, habit, and half-remembered school rules. What impressed me most was Greenbaum’s refusal to mystify grammar: there is no grand theory being sold, no ideological axe to grind, just a patient, systematic attempt to show how English actually works. The prose is spare but humane, technical without being hostile, and grounded in examples that feel lived-in rather than artificially constructed. This is not grammar as punishment or moral order; it is grammar as description, as mapping. I found myself appreciating how much intellectual discipline it takes to be this clear without becoming simplistic. At times, the book feels almost old-fashioned in its restraint, especially when set against more flamboyant linguistic frameworks, but that restraint is its strength. Greenbaum trusts the reader’s intelligence and does not rush the payoff. The sections on clause structure and verb complementation, in particular, sharpened my sense of how much meaning depends on architecture rather than vocabulary. If there is a limitation, it lies in the book’s pedagogical neutrality: it doesn’t ask why grammar matters culturally or politically, only how it functions. For some readers, that may feel like an evasion; for me, it felt like a necessary foundation. This is a book that doesn’t flatter you, but it also doesn’t condescend. It asks for attention, rewards patience, and leaves you with a heightened respect for the quiet complexity of everyday sentences. Long after finishing it, I noticed myself reading ordinary prose more slowly, more attentively, and more aware of the invisible scaffolding holding meaning in place. That lingering attentiveness may be the most convincing argument Greenbaum makes for why grammar, taught well and honestly, still matters.
Most recommended.
July 14, 2013
Wonderful!
November 10, 2014
Such a page-turner!
May 8, 2018
First reading: 4 stars
Second: 3 stars
Second: 3 stars
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews