I am looking for a good English grammar book for my wife. My wife is learning English and is constantly asking me questions about grammar which i dont know how to answer. Im particularly looking for a book that contains a time table sort of thing. Where it explains the past perfect, past, presente, future, future perfect and i dont know how many of those are.
I recall studying this in high school, but i remembered i study for the test and after i was done with it, i never used that information, so i did not retain any of that.
Any good suggestions for books?

What language does your wife speak currently? Or her home angle.

One of the my favorite subjects in school was English...but only when it came to literature. I devoured most all of the stories and literary assignments we had...but, admittedly, I didn't see the need for grammar back then, hated it...and therefore, to this day, I'm very deficient in its use...although I now see more of it's importance.

Charles Harrington Elster is a noted expert and author on all things word related, more so their proper pronunciation and use, but also the history of words and how they came into common accepted usage. He also delves into proper grammar as well.

He has written several books on the subject and, although I've never read any of his books before, he has also appeared regularly and for years on 850 KOA radio with two different hosts, and regularly answers listeners questions when it comes to word usage, pronunciation, and history, as well as grammar.

Although not grammar text books in the classic sense, you might find some of his books helpful.

Note that his focus is on proper and more classic English, not common everyday street or slang English.

Charles Harrington Elster

How about online learning? Kahn Academy is highly regarded and a quick search turns up others. Charles Harrington Elster, as mentioned earlier in this post, has videos on Youtube.

Listening and watching might develop an understanding faster than reading.

Handbook of Grammar and Composition by James Chapman. It can be found at Abeka books or on Amazon. Concise and well laid out with examples making it easier to follow.

Ditto what jimmy asked. Your wife's native language will play a big part in her grasping English and also what sort of errors she would be inclined to make.

That aside, I'd echo the Khan Academy. They have ELA (English Language Arts) curriculum through 9th grade, so depending on her current level of English, you could start very young to master the fundamentals. They also have an English grammar, which seems to be more in line with what you're asking about: a more technical take on English that most native speakers probably have no grasp on.

If she is really ESL and just at the beginning of learning English, I might start with a grade school resource (or look for an online ESL resource), then jump to the English grammar on KA.

I was a Science and Maths teacher but I asked two of my respected colleagues and they both mentioned CoffeeAddict's suggestion.

They also mentioned Highschool Grammar and Composition by Wren & Martin.

Check that out.

Khan Academy is good, but the book will have more examples for each topic.

No book suggestions, as the Little Brown Handbook that they used a million years ago when I was in school is probably out of date/favor.

But please do tell your wife that English is a HOT MESS compared to many other languages that have fairly regular rules. As she works on it, she will continue to run across special cases that don’t fit the rules. At that point it may help to remember that it isn’t her, it is the language.

My wife speaks Spanish. She has a college degree and everything, but all her education has been in Mexico. She is taking online English courses but they seem to be geared towards learning day to day conversations. The question she is asking me are more "learning the language and grammar and the why's of how grammar is used" if I make any sense.

Thank you guys, I am going to use the info I receive here to help her out and at the same time re-learn it too. I appreciate your help.

In that case, tell her to be careful because if she really studies the grammar and gets it down like a pro nobody she tries to talk with will understand her. 1/2 Tell her it will be like speaking Castilian (Castellano).

Would something like Strunk and White's Elements of Style be of use to her? I am not sure what information you are looking for.

https://www.amazon.com/Element...Strunk/dp/020530902X

It isn't like a child's grammar book, but has a lot of information about how to use English properly. It is a classic, and less like a manual than some.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:
But please do tell your wife that English is a HOT MESS compared to many other languages that have fairly regular rules. As she works on it, she will continue to run across special cases that don’t fit the rules. At that point it may help to remember that it isn’t her, it is the language.

Yep - bastard offspring of a hundred languages, and that carries over into both spelling and grammar.

Im looking mainly for books in English Verb Tense Tables. I dont know how many there are on top of the main three ones (Past, present and future) Simple past, present continuous, etc etc. The usage of I had have, I had had, etc.

Probably wildly politically incorrect but I remember Warriner's Grammar & Composition had 6 textbooks for 7th-12th grade

quote:

Originally posted by JeffSig2022:
I dont know how many there are on top of the main three ones (Past, present and future) Simple past, present continuous, etc etc.

Most folks have only been taught 9, but there are actually 11. Most folks forget about the Progressive forms, which used to be call Continuous...and have never heard of the Perfect Continuous

This chart shows there there are 12...I'm not sure about the Future-going to

Language comes naturally by being immersion or exposure. Rules are learned late in the game and should be considered a luxury. Non essential for the most part and quite pointless for casual communication.

Any child, anywhere can learn any language simply by being there.
Adults biggest mistake while learning a lsnguage is considering it as a path with obstacles =often constructed as almost impossible= instead of a means to an end.
If you look past the obstacle to your destination, then the obstacle becomes something you can simply ignore. It will sort itself out in due time.

If the message gets through, mission accomplished.

This from someone who learned the basics of English at school and then continued on his own. Never spent more that 10 days in an english speaking country in a year and who learned french out of necessity by arriving in Belgium in Jan and starting Law School in october. Without any previous knowledge of french.

Pick a subject, any, that you like and follow it in another language. It will make sense after a while. Let the language be the way to what you want.

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Since your wife started with spanish, just like me, tell her to relax and be patient.

Rules, we don't need no stinkin' rules!



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quote:

Originally posted by JeffSig2022:

Im particularly looking for a book that contains a time table sort of thing. Where it explains the past perfect, past, presente, future, future perfect and i dont know how many of those are.
I recall studying this in high school, but i remembered i study for the test and after i was done with it, i never used that information, so i did not retain any of that.
Any good suggestions for books?

This reminds me of The True Story of the business traveler who arrived at Boston's Logan Airport and jumped into a taxi, which was driven by a Harvard student who was working part time to help pay his bills.

The business traveler had never been to the Boston area before, and he wanted to try a seafood dish that he had heard about.

He said to the Harvard student who was driving the cab, "Please take me someplace where I can get scrod."

The driver replied, "I have had that request many times, but never in the past pluperfect subjunctive."

Encoire moi

For the most part of my life I 've read almost exclusively in English. Means to an end.
At school, started with comics, then i was one of the sellected few who actually read Playboy and Penthouse magazine articles. Then books, movies, manuals, anything i could get my hands on.

I find spanish reading particularly boring compared to english. Must have a more technical and accurate type mind. Reading in french or spanish bores the lights out of me.

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It can be found at Abeka books or on Amazon.

Ah, a homeschool mom.

I found English grammar pretty incomprehensible in school and only understood it when I studied foreign languages, specifically French and German.

Don't know exactly how it works for non-native English learners.

Although our vocabulary is mixed up and spelling at times near impossible, the grammar is much simpler than, for example, German, which has four cases, or Russian which has six.