If you ask anyone who has ever studied English which textbook they used to learn grammar, 9 out of 10 will answer you that it is Raymond Murphy. I knew Murphy myself when I was a schoolgirl more than 13 years ago. Now this textbook is still one of the main tools for teaching English to children and adults in my library.
So what makes Raymond Murphy's English Grammar in Use so legendary?
Firstly, the textbook format is perfect for both classroom educational institution, so self-study. Each textbook consists of 100 - 130 units with detailed description and exercises to consolidate the material.
This is exactly how the author offers his grammar lessons. All the left pages contain rules and examples, and the right pages contain exercises. I really like the way the author approaches the presentation of the rules. He first shows everything with an example from real life, compares, and only then explains the rule itself.
Secondly, Murphy's Grammar is a wonderful reference book. If you need to remember this or that rule, you can easily find the information you need in a matter of seconds. The many appendices at the end of the tutorial cover almost everything grammar material in English.
Within one textbook, units are grouped into groups: Present and Past, Future, Modals, Passive, Question, etc. This means that you will consistently move from simple to complex and will be able to practice different aspects of the same grammatical category, such as Present Simple or Passive Voice.
However, it should be noted that important disadvantage Murphy's textbooks are available small quantity exercises for both simple and difficult topics. Thus, it is not always possible to practice the material covered; you have to turn to additional collections of exercises, for example.
Despite the lack of exercises, I can say that the grammatical material is given in the amount necessary for free communication in the language and understanding most of what is said and read. Moreover, in my opinion, “English Grammar in Use” is suitable for. Overall, a very good book, tested by time and more than one generation of students.
You can buy Murphy's grammar in the online store My-Shop.ru or Labyrinth:
You can download the books English Grammar in Use from R. Murphy in PDF using the following links:
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Hello my dear readers.
What is it and who is it suitable for?
This, as I already noted, is a grammar textbook that is suitable for beginners. And it will bring maximum benefit to beginners.
It consists of two parts, each of which corresponds to a certain level of language proficiency. Popularly these two parts are called red murphy - for lower possession, and blue murphy- for higher ones (that is, for those who already have a base).
Pros, cons and my personal conclusion
I am sure that reviews are the basis on which a buyer's choice is built. That’s why I want to give you my professional review, and also tell you about the pros and cons. Let's start with the pros:
- Good structure.
It was built very conveniently. Each turn is a combination of theory and exercises, and each new lesson closes a small topic.
- The perfect knowledge base.
I am confident that this book, like no other, will form the basis for further study. After it, you will be able to move to another level with absolute confidence in your knowledge.
Minuses, of course, everyone searches for themselves. And I'm sure it will be quite difficult to find them. Some people are not satisfied that the theory of the lesson is broken down into its component parts, some lack additional vocabulary, and for others it is simply “passing through” on the way to other, more complex ones.
However, my review will be quite brief: if you are just starting to study grammar and want to finally understand it, this is an ideal solution for self-study, or for classes. If you are not quite a beginner in learning a language, but also far from a professional, you can try something from what I did.
Where can I buy?
Of course, you can download it online and practice it for free. But personally, I always recommend buying it. So, it will always be at your fingertips, and I am still sure that learning from purchased books is much more effective. You can buy the manual either in bookstores or at Ozon.ru or Labirint.ru . (these are my favorite stores where buying books is very profitable!)
Finally, my dears, I would like to say, whatever you choose, remember that the most important thing is regularly keep busy and don’t “throw away” on other options. Don't forget that I update the blog content regularly. Subscribe to the newsletter and be the first to know about it.
Perhaps, for any person who has started or continues to study English, there are two words that chill the soul and make you wake up in a cold sweat - these are “spelling” and “grammar”.
And, since we are taught from childhood to face our fears, today we will try to get rid of one of them together.
Ladies and gentlemen, we present to your attention the top 10 grammar aids. We'll start our review with tutorials for beginners:
1. The Good Grammar Book
Level: Elementary-Lower Intermediate
The Good Grammar Book is intended for English learners and can be used starting at the Elementary level. The authors themselves created the book for independent work.
The book consists of 21 sections, each section begins with an introduction and a test (the test is designed to identify gaps in your knowledge). At the end of section B you will also find a test that will help you understand how well you have mastered a particular topic.
The grammar in the book is presented in small portions, in several lines, followed by exercises to consolidate of this material. Quite a good textbook simple explanations, which will help you better understand English grammar.
2. Essential Grammar in Use
Level: Elementary-Pre-Intermediate
Essential Grammar in Use, also known as “red Murphy”, appeared later, after such a successful debut of “blue Murphy” (we will talk about it below), after which both books began to be distinguished by color.
"Red Murphy" deals with topics that are usually covered at the Elementary- Pre-Intermediate.
There are two editions of “red Murphy”, with and without answers, respectively, this textbook can be used both for classroom work and for independent study of the English language.
The book consists of 114 independent lessons, which can be studied in any order.
Each lesson consists of theory, which is located on the left, and exercises, which you will find on the right.
Traditionally, there is also a test to determine problem areas.
If your level is higher, then you should pay attention to the grammar aids given in the article below.
3.English grammar in use
Who doesn't know old man Murphy? This book also goes under the code name "Blue Murphy", and in Russian as "blue Murphy".
The grammar in Murphy's Blue is laid out in a very simple, “human” language, so it can be used starting from the Pre-Intermediate level.
This is a grammar reference book, each topic of which is accompanied by reinforcement exercises.
Consists of 136 lessons, each of which is devoted to a separate grammatical topic. One grammar topic takes up an entire spread of the textbook, on the left of which you will find an explanation, and on the right - exercises for it.
Each of the lessons is independent and can be studied in any order. As a bonus to the lessons, there is a test to determine your level of English, as well as gaps in your knowledge.
Can be used independently or in English lessons. Murphy is perhaps the classic of English grammar.
And you should know this textbook if you want to pass as one of your own in English learning circles.
4. A Practical English Grammar
Level: Intermediate
A practical English Grammar - a reference book of the English language. It does not contain exercises itself, but it comes with two collections of exercises that cover the topics in the reference book.
After Murphy's simplicity and laconicism, A Practical English Grammar may truly shock you.
This is an extremely broad and in-depth presentation of English grammar, with many usages, exceptions and examples. Perhaps one of the most detailed and in-depth publications of practical English grammar.
However, this reference book should be used more as an additional aid for learning English, to understand the details and nuances, since I don’t think it’s practically possible to put everything that is presented in one chapter of this book in my head.
You can also use it to find the information you need; Thompson's table of contents is quite convenient and allows you to quickly find the information you need. The style of the reference book is dry and academic, without illustrations or jokes.
Collections of exercises resemble their “parent” in every way and may seem boring to you.
However, they are very useful for working on English grammar. The collections contain answers and can be used independently.
5. Oxford Practice Grammar
Level: Intermediate
Oxford Practice Grammar, if you follow the words of its publishers, will provide you necessary material for delivery FCE (First Certificate in English). The structure of this textbook is very similar to Murphy's above-mentioned structure, since each topic also occupies one spread, with theory on the left and exercises to work through the material on the right. The book consists of 153 lessons grouped under thematic tables of contents. Every 5-6 lessons there is a test that will help you test your knowledge on previous topics; the book also contains a test to test your knowledge of the English language and identify problem areas. Suitable for both home use, and for use in the classroom. Among the advantages of the book, it is worth noting the fact that each of the lessons begins with illustrations or dialogue, which helps to enliven the boringness of others grammar reference books, and also the fact that the book sometimes contains quite atypical and interesting tasks, as well as tasks that will later be taken at FCE. The disadvantages include stinginess and even some lack of theoretical material.
Essential Grammar in Use,
English grammar in Use,
Oxford Practice Grammar,
Longman English Grammar Practice,
Cambridge Grammar for IELTS,
Advanced Grammar in Use,
Enterprise Grammar Books,
6. Longman English Grammar Practice
Level: Intermediate
Longman English Grammar Practice is designed for Intermediate level students. Can be used both for independent work and for working with a teacher. Contains 16 topics, each of which is divided into several subtopics. Each of the subtopics occupies a spread on which both theory and consolidation exercises are presented. The theory is presented in portions, followed by practical exercises. The last exercise is about using grammar in context, usually a fun story with an illustration that summarizes all the knowledge gained in the section. The book can be worked through in any order. Quite a good English textbook with a sufficient amount of both theoretical and practical exercises. The disadvantages include a basic presentation of grammar, without nuances and details.
7. Cambridge Grammar for IELTS
Level: Upper-Intermediate
Cambridge Grammar for IELTS is intended for those wishing to pass the exam of the same name. Designed for students to use independently, but can also be used as a textbook in the classroom. It also contains a diagnostic test to determine the level, which will allow you to highlight problem areas and focus on working on them. The lessons in the book are not related to each other, so they can be studied in any order. Consists of 25 lessons. Each lesson consists of 4 parts: “Context Listening”, which introduces the listener to new grammar and also trains listening comprehension; "Grammar", which contains theory; “Grammar exercises”, which contains exercises to study, and “Test practice”, which contains an examination task. Among the advantages, one can note a fairly detailed presentation of grammar with examples, as well as “Grammar extra”, a section that provides additional interesting information on the topic, for example, using modal verbs in official documents. The downside is that the presentation of the grammar is complex and not very logically organized, which makes it difficult to understand. Each section contains 4 small grammar exercises to work on new grammar, which is clearly not enough to master the topic.
8.Advanced Grammar in Use
Level: Advanced
Advanced Grammar in Use is a book in the same series as Essential Grammar in Use and English Grammar in Use, also known as Murphy's Red and Blue, but in a break with tradition, the book is written by Martin Hewings. This book is intended for English learners advanced level, mainly used independently to improve English grammar. The structure is reminiscent of its predecessors, and consists of 120 sections, each of which takes up a page spread, with extensive theory on the left and exercises on the right. The presentation of the theory is quite simple and successful, contains a lot useful information, exceptions and nuances of use, which will really allow you to improve your English. The sections are independent and can be completed in any order. First, it is recommended to take a test to identify problem areas (the test is also in the book), then begin to study the problem sections. The only drawback This textbook does not have an insufficient number of exercises with a huge amount of theoretical information, therefore, in order to master a particular topic, you will have to use additional materials. Overall, a good textbook for self-improvement.
It is also worth paying attention to the series of grammar guides for children and adults:
9. Round-up
Level: Starter-Upper-Intermediate
The Round up series from the British publishing house Longman consists of 7 books. Intended for children and teenagers and probably well known to those children who studied English in post-Soviet times. This is a very popular series that is often used by schools and courses in teaching English as it has a number of advantages. Firstly, this is a very colorful publication, which is a definite plus for children. After all, when they see gray grammar books with monotonous exercises, their faces immediately change and, remembering the grammar exercises, they involuntarily shudder. Information is presented in the form of tables with examples and situations close to real ones. The exercises are intended for both written and oral training of grammatical structures; there are also exercises for group work. It can also be used for self-study of the English language, since the series contains detailed explanations for each section, as well as exercises for repeating the material covered. Grammar is served in portions, each new topic introduced by dialogue, often a joke, accompanied by a funny illustration. In general, this series is replete with illustrations and exercises that are interesting for children, but, on the other hand, provides a sufficient number of exercises for mastering new grammar. So, if you want to reduce your child’s stress in learning English, feel free to choose Round-up.
10. Enterprise Grammar Books
Level: Beginner-Intermediate
In general, the Enterprise series consists of a “Student’s Book”, “Workbook” and “Grammar Book” for additional grammar development, but can also be used independently. In my opinion, one of the best books to work on grammar, especially for the Pre-intermediate, Intermediate and Upper-Intermediate levels. The series consists of 4 levels, the entire theory is presented at the beginning of the lesson, followed by exercises to develop it. There are a lot of exercises, they are quite dynamic and allow you to work well on new grammatical structures. After 2-3 lessons there are exercises for repetition and elaboration of several studied topics. The undoubted advantage of this particular series is exercises in paraphrasing and transforming one grammatical structure into another. A very good grammar book, more suitable for classroom use as it does not contain keys. At the end of the books there are tests to test the learned material.
In an interview, Michael Swan, a famous English grammarian, admitted that he often receives letters from English language learners asking them to eliminate the ending “-s” in the third person. singular in the Present Simple, and one of my friends even proposed organizing a movement to eliminate confusion in English grammar, abolish articles and most tenses. You can join this movement or write to Michael Swan, or you can simply learn grammar from one of the above-mentioned textbooks. It's up to you to decide and in any case I wish you success in learning English via Skype!
Big and friendly EnglishDom family
This textbook is one of the ten best in the world for learning English.
Self-instruction manual with exercises and keys for beginners ( elementary) and middle level ( intermediate) students. Has already ! Video lessons for the textbook can be found on my YouTube channel english100ru> To quickly find the desired topic or unit, use the Contents page or search the site. It doesn't matter which edition of the textbook you use. Find topics by chapter titles ( Units), they do not change (only new ones are added). You can check out
The continuation of this tutorial was "Murphy Blue"
English Grammar in Use> by Raymond Murphy (Raymond Murphy) for more advanced students ( intermediate). Raymond Murphy himself was an American, a teacher of English as a foreign language. Then he went to Germany, where he continued to teach English to Germans. There this textbook was born, based on American practicality and German quality, which brought Raymond Murphy worldwide fame.
One day I received a letter from Canada from a married couple who were my former students. They said that they were taking English courses for newcomers(those who recently moved to Canada for permanent residence) by different materials, including this textbook.
Has already . At the moment (2017), the 4th edition is being sold online, well structured, color and almost without typos. There are editions with and without keys.
The textbook contains a very careful and practical selection of vocabulary (words). Everything you need, within the “1st thousand”.
This is a beginner level, the basics of English grammar. Everything in the book is in English, so it’s hardly possible to start learning the language from “0” on your own. This site was created to help you start learning English on your own.
The explanations are brief, without “water”, and sometimes sketchy. Lots of pictures. The continuation of this textbook is Murphy's Blue, for intermediate students. The logic is the same, but the vocabulary and grammar are given much deeper.
Preface to Raymond Murphy's book "Essential Grammar in Use" (short translation):
For a student (working independently):
...Don't study all the chapters from beginning to end. It is better to select the chapters that you need, where you have problems. Use the book like this:
— Browse the table of contents and select the desired chapter
— Explore left side(there's a theory)
- Do exercises on the right
— Check the result in the keys
- If necessary, repeat the theory again
To the teacher:
- this is primarily a grammar, and not a book like a generally accepted English textbook
- this is a book for beginners, but not a complete “0” (and does not cover all the grammar)
- combines reference book and exercises
- can be used as a tutorial or as additional material
Book structure:
— 107 chapters ( units) independent of each other
— 6 add-ons ( appendix)
- keys to exercises ( keys)
Level:
- for beginners (elementary) students, and can also be used by intermediate-level students whose grammar is “lame”. Explanations are as simple and short as possible with illustrations
— lexicon the book is strictly limited (first thousand words)
How to use the book:
- can be used for independent study, as well as additional material for any course
- can be used as a basic reference book
— when used in courses, it can be used to instantly consolidate the material covered or further return to covered topics and work on mistakes.
— you can use the left side of the book for explanations in class, but remember, the book is more suitable for independent study and as a reference.
- in most cases, the teacher is recommended to independently explain the material, give exercises, and then use the left side as a reference when checking the house. tasks.
- it would be good for the teacher to use the book to review what has been covered and independent work students over errors in the relevant chapters ( units).
