{"id":24173,"count":15,"description":"In the age of the internet and smartphones, we are all writers. Grammar books can help and there are also fascinating debates about what comprises 'correct' English and how it should be judged. If you're new to the topic and want practical tips on how to improve, we recommend our interview on the <a href=\"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/best-books\/grammar-punctuation-mark-nichol\/\">best books on grammar and punctuation<\/a> by California-based writer and self-confessed 'grammar geek' Mark Nichol. Among his choices is <a href=\"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/book\/garners-modern-english-usage\/\"><em>Garner\u2019s Modern English Usage<\/em><\/a> by Bryan A. Garner, our most recommended book on the topic (it's also recommended by <a href=\"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/people\/robert-lane-greene\/\">Lane Greene<\/a>, who writes the <em>Economist's<\/em> Johnson language column).\r\n\r\nIf proper English is not your goal, we also have <a href=\"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/best-books\/jonathon-green-on-slang\/\">book recommendations on slang<\/a>, defined as \u201ccounter-language\u201d by lexicographer Jonathon Green, and <a href=\"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/best-books\/swearing-melissa-mohr\/\">swearing<\/a> by journalist Melissa Mohr. Both recommend <a href=\"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/book\/f-word-by-jesse-sheidlower-and-lewis-black\/\"><em>The F Word<\/em><\/a> by Jesse Sheidlower. \u201cEverybody should look at this and see how lexicography should be done...it\u2019s an amazing piece of scholarship,\u201d says Green.\r\n\r\nOn the subject of lexicography, we also have an interview about the <a href=\"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/best-books\/peter-gilliver-oxford-english-dictionary\/\">Oxford English Dictionary<\/a>, which started more than a century ago and tries to track the origin of all words in the English language.\r\n\r\n(NB If you've already mastered the basics and just want to write more beautifully, we also have <a href=\"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/category\/language\/writing-books\/\">book lists\/interviews on writing<\/a>)","link":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/category\/language\/grammar-books\/","name":"English Grammar &amp; Usage","slug":"grammar-books","taxonomy":"category","parent":11189,"meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/24173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/taxonomies\/category"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/11189"}],"wp:post_type":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts?categories=24173"},{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book?categories=24173"},{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/books_like_this?categories=24173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}