Product Description

This invaluable reference work offers the best and most sought-after advice on English grammar based on Henry Fowler's original, which is still a classic text after nearly 80 years. Updated with the use of Oxford's unique language databases, it comprises over 4,200 entries giving clear recommendations on grammar, pronunciation, spelling, confusable words, and writing style. · Advice on how to avoid common pitfalls in English usage, such as the split infinitive, infer or imply, who or whom · Broad coverage of British and American English, including examples from all over the English-speaking world · Wide-ranging illustrative quotations from well-known authors, such as Julian Barnes and A. S. Byatt, and international newspapers and journals

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #366664 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 640 pages

About the Author
Robert Allen is an experienced lexicographer and writer on a wide range of language issues. A former Senior Editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, Chief Editor of the Concise Oxford Dictionary (1990), and an Associate Editor of the Oxford Companion to the English Language (1992), he has written widely on the use of English in modern times. He now works as a freelance editor and writer, and is the author of two titles in Oxford's 'One Step Ahead' series,
Punctuation and Spelling.

Customer Reviews

'Pocket', maybe, but very big pocket
This is a real fruitcake of a reference, packed with advice on modern English usage straight form the superanbundent British National Corpus. Within minutes of receiving the book, I found myself consulting its copious references; I now keep it by my side all the time.

An excellent source of modern usage: wouldn't dream of being without it now. Recommended.

Problems with English? The answers are probably in Fowler.
This simple book has an A-Z listing of all the trip-hazards commonly found in the English language. If you need to solve the uncommon ones then you might need to ask its bigger brother - Fowlers 'Dictionary of Modern English Usage.'

Everything one might need is listed; for example, if you want to know when to use a hyphen, or a short dash, or a long dash, Fowler will tell you. The information does not need to be so esoteric; for example, the differences between further and farther, or between defuse and diffuse, are explained clearly and succinctly.

Should you wish to write correct English, be it in a book or an essay, an Amazon review or just an email, keep Fowler within easy reach for peace of mind.

My only quibble is with the use of the word 'Pocket' in the description of this volume. I do not have any pockets big enough to accomodate it!

The excellent Strunk and White 'The Elements of Style' is a pocket book, but modestly does not claim to be so.

Cheaper than an education
If you cannot afford to go to Oxford, then carry Oxford in your pocket. This is the new edition of a trusted volume I have kept by my desk all my life. The original Fowler and Gowers versions of the book still hold their own when it comes to telling the difference between words ending in ible and able and coping with split infinitives. But this new version cuts through the complications of jargon and pc words that have infiltrated the language in recent years. I still keep the old inky blue hardback closest at hand, but the new book acts as a back up when dealing with new words and phrases.