Learning grammar is frustrating. Students often have a hard time memorizing abstract rules and fail to use them intuitively when speaking or writing. And that’s after completing hundreds of exercises! 

The learning experience should be interesting and engaging. Focusing purely on grammar isn’t the most effective strategy. Students often push themselves to continue but, after a month or two, they lose motivation to study entirely. 

Besides, language is much more than grammar. It carries culture. So why not learn other interesting things when improving your English? Use a combination of learning materials on anything from art and culture to economics and business. This adds the elements of storytelling and native processing of the language. 

Yet, learning grammar is not a complete waste of time. By doing some grammar exercises, you get comprehensible input to absorb grammar naturally from movies, books, podcasts, and real-life conversations. Workbooks might help you build your language confidence, but they shouldn’t be your only tools. Instead, focus on more practical learning strategies, complementing them with grammar when you feel like you need it. 

Here are some comprehensive grammar workbooks that will help you understand all the nuances of the English language.

The Best Grammar Workbook Ever! by Arlene Miller

Arlene Miller’s workbook receives a lot of attention, and it’s well-deserved. The Best Grammar Workbook Ever is a thorough guide for everyone who wants to learn English grammar. Students like it for being easy to understand. The author provides context and examples for each grammar rule without forcing learners to memorize abstract definitions. 

You can consult this book while working on your writing assignments. However, if you don’t have much time to work on your paper and make sure it’s free from grammar errors, buy it from essayservice, a professional paper writing service. Its writers have a keen eye for detail when it comes to grammar. 

ESL Intermediate/Advanced Grammar by Mary Ellen Muñoz Page

Pay attention to this grammar book if you’re interested in boosting your grammar knowledge to an advanced level. Mary Ellen Muñoz Page is bilingual herself, and she knows the actual challenges and struggles of English language learners. She provides simple explanations of the rules and helps learners clarify all the tricky questions. 

The book works well if you want to use it for self-guided studies, just as it’s suitable for classroom use. It can also help you prepare for exams like TOEFL as the workbook includes test-taking strategies for success. It also comes with a specialized glossary that makes it easy to complete writing exercises that require you to write me an essay best quality as well as others and allows increasing your vocabulary. 

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation by Lester Kaufman and Jane Straus

As the subtitle goes, this grammar book is “an easy-to-use guide with clear rules, real-world examples, and reproducible quizzes.” It serves the needs of different groups of learners, from middle schoolers to college students. The Blue Book gets constantly revised and updated, with the 12th edition released in 2021. So you can expect to see the latest rules and changes covered.

The book isn’t only focused on theory. The authors devote enough attention to the practical side of grammar learning. You’ll find a lot of examples, exercises, and pre- and post-tests. You can practice how to apply the rules and check easy-to-follow explanations whenever you need them.

Practical English Usage by Michael Swan

Practical English Usage has been a best seller for years. It helps to understand how English works and improve your writing and speaking skills. It’s a go-to grammar book for every teacher and student with advanced grammar skills.

Michael Swan writes in simple language and provides multiple examples for every lesson so that everyone can understand the grammar rules. The book is well-organized and includes more than 600 entries on everything from the use of tenses to word-formation. It’s divided into two sections: the first is a step-by-step grammar guide, while the second covers vocabulary issues. There is also information on the topics like the language of emails, politeness, style, and formal writing that answer the common questions asked by all English language learners.

English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy

The book is known for its systematic approach to grammar and well-structured lessons. It helps learners build their grammar skills, gradually increasing difficulty. The fifth edition of English Grammar in Use includes material updates and revised exercises and examples.

The book is the first choice for students because of its clarity and conciseness in the presentation of information. A learner gets a short, straightforward explanation of every rule with a couple of examples and an exercise to practice. The book also has an easy-to-follow layout, which helps to navigate through the units and rules. 

The Bottom Line

The learning experience is meant to be dynamic and exciting. Find a balance between formal grammar workbooks and more engaging learning materials like podcasts and movies. You get a deeper understanding of the language if you match the content of your learning materials to your interests and priorities. It’ll help you to speed up your progress and avoid the boredom and frustration of language learning that is purely focused on grammar.