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What are some of the better English reference grammars?
I grew up in a non-English speaking country. During my elementary and middle school years, I self-studied the grammar of English via various books written by the most famous experts in my country, although these were beyond what were required by my curriculum. I am not saying my English is good enough now, but the study from the old days still helps me a lot for my life in U.S. later.
After coming to U.S., I have often got my mind boggled by various usages of English either in talks or in prints, which seem to be inconsistent with what I have learned before. In my guess, the reasons can be a combination of any of the following:
- what I have learned is probably based on British English;
- the usage by American is not always rigorous, which sometimes put me into the dilemma of which to follow;
- I might need some excellent English grammar books whose authors are trustworthy experts who are also native English speaker.
So, my question is, as for my last point, what are your recommendations for English grammar books? I would like to read comprehensive and nice-organized books from being concise, to being detailed. I think books for middle and elementary schools are perhaps not what I am looking for.
Thanks and regards!
