I would like to write a review of two grammar books that I truly believe are one of the best in the world in this field. They are a red one and a blue one - Essential Grammar in use, a self study reference and practice book for elementary students of English – the red one and English grammar in use - a self study reference and practice book for intermediate students of English - the blue one. They both are written by Raymond Murphy.
In 2004 I started to take private English lessons from a guy who lived in the amber seller’s mansion basement; he was an incredible actor, English teacher, a choreographer of the Contemporary Dance Theatre, my colleague in the theater and a friend. He was frequently invited to the festivals in New York, Germany, Paris, Poland, Moscow, Saint Petersburg. He had a mind blowing unique personality. He was kind of a guru to me.
When I started taking English classes from him he recommended this book to me and what do you think I did? Exactly, I bought it. Back then in 2004 it was an illegal black and white version with shabby pages that had filled up the shelves of the stores of English literature. I had realized this was a special book—it has magic between the lines—partly because of the incredible content it has and partly because of the inspiring atmosphere between the pages created during the lessons with my teacher, Vitaly Glukhov.
I think it is one of the best English grammar books out there and I’m not alone in having this view, 15 million people around the world share this thought in one way or another having these blue and red creatures on their shelves in their houses. I think the reason this book is so good and has gone through 4 editions so far is that it is simple, practical, unique and creative.
When Murphy was writing down his ideas for this ‘Bible of English Grammar’ he worked at Oxford University as an English teacher, but the unique thing was that he had classes with students from all over the world which created a need for him to explain English to them in a way that is understandable for people of different cultures and different levels of English;
he couldn’t find the source that would help this diversity of students so he created his own book that consisted of notes that he was making for students – what they needed in the class.
Another reason this book is so amazing is that it uses language in examples and sentences which native speakers use in their everyday lives – a real language, as opposed to many dozens of other grammar books that use classic stories extracts that were written 50, 70,100 years ago for example by Dickens, Henry James and other classic writers. Which is not a good idea because the language from these books isn’t often used in everyday conversations.
I’d realized the practical superiority of Murphy’s grammar books when I was interviewing a great deal of native speakers via skype learning English in a creative way. I was building my conversations based on the sentences from this ‘Bible of English Grammar’ when I had come to the realization that the language between the pages was real. I was interviewing writers, teachers, cooks, creative souls and the more I did it the more convinced I became that this book is a treasure. Then I started teaching and felt the true genius behind this creation, which Raymond Murphy really is, undoubtedly.
There are 115 units in the red book and 145 units in the blue one and it’s very convenient to find almost any grammatical nuance that you might need in a conversation. When I work with my students using this book I have a feeling it is built in a way that allows you to learn grammar just like rock stars learn their songs for a concert. They sing these songs a couple of times at the rehearsal and memorize them just like we ‘sing’ units a couple of times getting familiar with the topic.
In addition you can work with this book in a variety of ways – the classical one – you write your answers within the space of a gap or you can leave them empty and check your English grammar instincts by trying to fill the gaps on the fly, maybe a couple of times on various occasions, just like a rock star gets ready for his concert by rehearsing a song. Also the book has an astonishing Index section which is so comfortable to use that once you get your hands on this little creature you never get back to the material you had before.
My students love this book. It’s not overcomplicated, it’s practical, creatively interesting and gives you a gradual sense of accomplishment, which is an important thing when it comes to connecting the process of learning English with having this feeling – when the book makes you love the language even more. And I almost forgot – the smell of a freshly printed copy can give even the most sophisticated explorer of the language goosebumps.
The Magic Of Writing 2006 - 2023 Doggedly Extracted From The Adventurous Midst Of Turquoise Imagination Via Sergey Denisov
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