Fowler's Modern English Usage

By Robert W. Burchfield, H. W. Fowler, R. W. Burchfield

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Average Rating: (See all reviews) Format: Hardcover, 896 pages, Revised Edition Published In: United States, May 2005 Other Editions: Hardback, UK $74.99 $57.99 View Quantity Available: 84 Ships within 6-10 days Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA ISBN: 0198610211 EAN: 9780198610212 Dimensions: 22.71 x 15.9 x 4.88 centimeters (1.16 kg)

this book is a joy to use, both because of how helpful it is when I'm trying to sort out a question of grammar, meaning or variable spelling, and also because of all the other lovely things I stumble across while paging through it find a particular answer.

Fowler's original work was marvellous, and Burchmore's update is terrific - well written, clear, unambiguous, often amusing...

it's also excellent that it covers not just standard British English and US English, but mentions Australian, New Zealand, Canadian and South African variations.

a really worthwhile purchase for anyone who works with the English language, and a treat for those of us who just enjoy it

This is, in my opinion, one of the best and most useful current English Usage guides available. Some aspects of it are idiomatically controversial (for instance, Burchfield sees no transgression in splitting infinitives or using idiomatic phrases such as 'try and' or 'different than/to'), but for its general accuracy in a field rife with mistakes it is very refreshing.

Burchfield is refreshingly accurate with many common misconceptions, as with the Oxford Comma, the use of apostrophes for plurals, Latin suffixes on Greek plurals, exceptional uses of the passive and active form, and a host of others. This book covers a very great range of entries, and makes allowances for dialectical and other idiomatic differences. This is probably particularly useful in the Antipodes as Burchfield is himself a New Zealander.

This is a very easy to use and useful guide. It accurately clears up a range of commonly arising but difficult-to-answer questions. I would consider it indispensable for any student or writer, or anyone simply interested in English. A worthy revision of a classic.