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Gwynne's Grammar: The Ultimate Introduction to Grammar and the Writing of Good English
Anxious about apostrophes? In a pickle over pronouns and prepositions? Fear not—Mr. Gwynne is here with his wonderfully concise and highly enjoyable handbook. Within these witty, opinionated, and astonishingly useful pages, adults and children alike will find all they need to rediscover the neglected science of writing good English. Mr. Gwynne believes that happiness depends at least partly on good grammar—and Mr. Gwynne is never wrong.
289 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
About the author
N.M. Gwynne
9 books11 followersNevile Martin Gwynne is a British writer who has gained recognition for his book, Gwynne's Grammar. He has also written Gwynne's Latin. He spent his early days in Gloucestershire before attending Eton College and Oxford University, graduating with a degree in Modern Languages.
Formerly a successful businessman, Mr Gwynne has for many years been teaching and tutoring just about every sort of subject to just about every sort of pupil in just about every sort of circumstance. His teaching methods are very much the traditional, common-sense ones, refined over the centuries, that were almost everywhere until they were abolished in the 1960s. Being disappointed in the standards of grammar he encountered in his pupils, Mr Gwynne, over time, wrote this wonderful, succinct and yet comprehensive little book - because nothing quite as suitable already existed.
Formerly a successful businessman, Mr Gwynne has for many years been teaching and tutoring just about every sort of subject to just about every sort of pupil in just about every sort of circumstance. His teaching methods are very much the traditional, common-sense ones, refined over the centuries, that were almost everywhere until they were abolished in the 1960s. Being disappointed in the standards of grammar he encountered in his pupils, Mr Gwynne, over time, wrote this wonderful, succinct and yet comprehensive little book - because nothing quite as suitable already existed.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 7, 2014
When an idiosyncratic book on English grammar becomes a bestseller in the United Kingdom, it makes one wonder who is buying it. English-as-a-second language immigrants? Schoolteachers? Students who feel their current instruction deficient? Adults who got short shrift in grammar when back in school? If so, then perhaps Gwynne’s Grammar: The Ultimate Introduction to Grammar and the Writing of Good English will become a bestseller here in the colonies as well. It should. Heaven knows we need it.
Recently released here, the opinionated and delightful dip into the wonderfully complex and logical world of English grammar was an eye-opener for me. Not because I learned much I didn’t already know—I did not. But it alerted me to how good an education in the rules of grammar I got in public school in the 50’s and 60’s. And these were not well-funded schools in toney neighborhoods but, first, a rural southern Illinois grade school where farm kids came to class barefoot in September and, secondly, a working-class suburban St. Louis school district that has now lost accreditation.
My grammar education differed sharply from that received by the 18 African American students in a remedial grammar class I taught in the mid 90’s at St. Louis’ Forest Park Community College. I was stunned when I looked at the results of the first diagnostic writing assignment I had given them. All had gone through 12 years in St. Louis Public Schools, all had graduated from high school, and none—through no fault of their own—could write a grammatically correct sentence except by accident.
On the second day of class I gave them the bad news first: You have been screwed by repeated educational malpractice perpetrated by teachers and administrators who abdicated their main responsibility: to teach you the rudiments of the language you need to succeed in life. Then the good news: You have me as teacher, and I’ll correct that.
That promise was overly optimistic. After some stumbling about I obtained grade school workbooks for everyone and together we all went back to where the problem started—first grade. We worked on the parts of speech (diagramming sentences, helped, something they had never been exposed to), spelling rules and structure, verb-noun agreement, etc. By semester’s end most of them got it, and a few had turned into pretty competent writers. Three or four failed—their poor reading skills, which I couldn’t myself address, held them down. (The experience was the seed that led to my writing my new novel, Fail, a St. Louis-based mystery that dramatizes the city’s educational ills and its violent results.)
As Gwynne’s Grammar author N.M. Gwynne argues, “[G]rammar is the science of using words rightly, leading to thinking rightly, leading to deciding rightly, without which…happiness is impossible.”
I am unsure if I agree with that syllogism, although there is ample evidence everywhere you look that suggests poor grammar and unhappiness often go hand-in-hand. If you can’t use the language correctly these days, expect some hard times.
Recently released here, the opinionated and delightful dip into the wonderfully complex and logical world of English grammar was an eye-opener for me. Not because I learned much I didn’t already know—I did not. But it alerted me to how good an education in the rules of grammar I got in public school in the 50’s and 60’s. And these were not well-funded schools in toney neighborhoods but, first, a rural southern Illinois grade school where farm kids came to class barefoot in September and, secondly, a working-class suburban St. Louis school district that has now lost accreditation.
My grammar education differed sharply from that received by the 18 African American students in a remedial grammar class I taught in the mid 90’s at St. Louis’ Forest Park Community College. I was stunned when I looked at the results of the first diagnostic writing assignment I had given them. All had gone through 12 years in St. Louis Public Schools, all had graduated from high school, and none—through no fault of their own—could write a grammatically correct sentence except by accident.
On the second day of class I gave them the bad news first: You have been screwed by repeated educational malpractice perpetrated by teachers and administrators who abdicated their main responsibility: to teach you the rudiments of the language you need to succeed in life. Then the good news: You have me as teacher, and I’ll correct that.
That promise was overly optimistic. After some stumbling about I obtained grade school workbooks for everyone and together we all went back to where the problem started—first grade. We worked on the parts of speech (diagramming sentences, helped, something they had never been exposed to), spelling rules and structure, verb-noun agreement, etc. By semester’s end most of them got it, and a few had turned into pretty competent writers. Three or four failed—their poor reading skills, which I couldn’t myself address, held them down. (The experience was the seed that led to my writing my new novel, Fail, a St. Louis-based mystery that dramatizes the city’s educational ills and its violent results.)
As Gwynne’s Grammar author N.M. Gwynne argues, “[G]rammar is the science of using words rightly, leading to thinking rightly, leading to deciding rightly, without which…happiness is impossible.”
I am unsure if I agree with that syllogism, although there is ample evidence everywhere you look that suggests poor grammar and unhappiness often go hand-in-hand. If you can’t use the language correctly these days, expect some hard times.
November 4, 2015
I love that a grammar book became a best seller (at least in England), and its author is quite fun to read and listen to. I collect grammar books and am very happy to add this one to my collection. I wouldn't use it in our homeschool as a primary text, however, mainly because there are no exercises provided. But it is a very worthwhile and practical reference, and one to judge all the others by. The author is enthusiastic about the subject and "old-school" (classically trained): "... the traditional rule should be stated all the more uncompromisingly the more it is fading away under the pressure of prevailing fashion-- perhaps even stated as one to be defended for all time, and yes, even after the battle seems irretrievably lost." He believes in a grammar grounded in principle and "reasoned reverence" for our language. "Our language is something that we have the use of, but we have a duty to be responsible, even to consider ourselves trustees during our period of 'occupation.'" He believes our happiness depends at least in part in knowing good grammar. How can I not love this author?
Gwynne's Grammar does owe a debt to the original 1918 Elements of Style by Strunk (minus White-- Gwynne is "wary" of the later edition with White), so if you're a fan of Strunk's original, you'll find it supported with more details here.
The physical dimensions of the book make it quite comfortable to hold and carry in the hand-- exactly the pleasant sort of book you can take along with you anywhere to dip into at your leisure.
Gwynne's Grammar does owe a debt to the original 1918 Elements of Style by Strunk (minus White-- Gwynne is "wary" of the later edition with White), so if you're a fan of Strunk's original, you'll find it supported with more details here.
The physical dimensions of the book make it quite comfortable to hold and carry in the hand-- exactly the pleasant sort of book you can take along with you anywhere to dip into at your leisure.
September 5, 2014
N.M. Gwynne, who’s already caused a stir in Britain with his promotion of Latin as the solution to all the world’s problems, or at least the educational ones, has here compiled a collection of how language “ought” to be written. The key is the word “ought,” which implies more than a little judgmentalism, borne out in the book through his use of epithets such as “crass illiteracy” and his tone of general superiority.
Yes, there are standards of writing that people who want to be successful need to follow. But Gwynne apparently never met a shibboleth, peeve or “rule” not based in actual English grammar that he didn’t like -- don’t split infinitives, don’t begin sentences with conjunctions, etc.
The last third of the book is a reprint of Strunk’s original 1918 “Elements of Style” (before White got his hands on it), which is fun to read simply from a historical point of view, but not particularly helpful for today’s writers.
If you are a person who thinks that These Darn Kids Today are ruining language, this is the book for you. If you are a person trying to improve your writing, plenty of other grammar books out there will do a better job of helping you.
Yes, there are standards of writing that people who want to be successful need to follow. But Gwynne apparently never met a shibboleth, peeve or “rule” not based in actual English grammar that he didn’t like -- don’t split infinitives, don’t begin sentences with conjunctions, etc.
The last third of the book is a reprint of Strunk’s original 1918 “Elements of Style” (before White got his hands on it), which is fun to read simply from a historical point of view, but not particularly helpful for today’s writers.
If you are a person who thinks that These Darn Kids Today are ruining language, this is the book for you. If you are a person trying to improve your writing, plenty of other grammar books out there will do a better job of helping you.
Read
June 2, 2018x
April 10, 2021
I found this book to be educational (I’ve read other grammar and writing guides before, but I find it impossible to remember all the rules, so repetition is helpful), and I enjoyed the quotes from English literature that the author used to illustrate his points.
I did find that in his efforts to be “proscriptive”, Gwynne would often try to use “data” to support his opinions so that he could state them as fact, but I found those to be anecdotal evidence at best. Ultimately I found the repeated use of the this-is-right-because-this-is-the-way-it-has-always-been argument unpleasantly distracting. I personally find persnickety academic snobbery endearing, but this type of rationalization reminds me too much of similar arguments made to justify lack of social progress. I realize we’re talking about grammar here, and not racial injustice, LGBTQ+ rights, or the environment, but I squirmed uncomfortably every time he wrote anything of this nature. Anyway, this is a book meant to be educational, and not a publication in a scientific journal (which is perhaps the standard I’m trying to hold it up to, or the standard to which I’m trying to hold it up), but anything that makes a weak argument to claim opinion as fact feels yucky to me.
One last point - many of the claims he makes about great literature and great poetry are glaringly Euro-centric, but without saying so. For example, “...one of the three great bodies of poetic literature of all time - I refer to the literatures of classical Greece and Roke and of the English-speaking world...” dismisses literature and poetry from any other culture, and yes, they do exist. I’m certainly no expert in Chinese poetry, but if the definition is getting a message across in an attractive and memorable way, and that there are rules guiding structure and form, this was absolutely an art form in China. This omission is probably excusable in a book about English grammar, but I wish he had acknowledged it, as it would have given him more credibility in my eyes.
I did find that in his efforts to be “proscriptive”, Gwynne would often try to use “data” to support his opinions so that he could state them as fact, but I found those to be anecdotal evidence at best. Ultimately I found the repeated use of the this-is-right-because-this-is-the-way-it-has-always-been argument unpleasantly distracting. I personally find persnickety academic snobbery endearing, but this type of rationalization reminds me too much of similar arguments made to justify lack of social progress. I realize we’re talking about grammar here, and not racial injustice, LGBTQ+ rights, or the environment, but I squirmed uncomfortably every time he wrote anything of this nature. Anyway, this is a book meant to be educational, and not a publication in a scientific journal (which is perhaps the standard I’m trying to hold it up to, or the standard to which I’m trying to hold it up), but anything that makes a weak argument to claim opinion as fact feels yucky to me.
One last point - many of the claims he makes about great literature and great poetry are glaringly Euro-centric, but without saying so. For example, “...one of the three great bodies of poetic literature of all time - I refer to the literatures of classical Greece and Roke and of the English-speaking world...” dismisses literature and poetry from any other culture, and yes, they do exist. I’m certainly no expert in Chinese poetry, but if the definition is getting a message across in an attractive and memorable way, and that there are rules guiding structure and form, this was absolutely an art form in China. This omission is probably excusable in a book about English grammar, but I wish he had acknowledged it, as it would have given him more credibility in my eyes.
June 16, 2020
I understand that as a book about grammar, this isn't going to be the most exciting read... but wow was it boring. One of the major problems is the first 60-ish pages, which is just preface and the author talking about how grammar is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING EVER.
A good 1/3-1/2 of the book is Strunk on Style and honestly that's the best part. It's the easier to understand and the most helpful.
The parts of the book by Gwynne are either so stuffy and elitist that you can feel yourself falling asleep, or it's Gwynne talking about how Kids These Days do grammar all wrong and you can't use "they" for gender neutral (even though there's records of it going back centuries) and how you must fight a war to preserve grammar as it is (nevermind regional dialect difference). There's this whole problematic aura hovering over the whole thing that really slows down what you're there for (you know, grammar).
I say skip this book entirely and just read Strunk's.
A good 1/3-1/2 of the book is Strunk on Style and honestly that's the best part. It's the easier to understand and the most helpful.
The parts of the book by Gwynne are either so stuffy and elitist that you can feel yourself falling asleep, or it's Gwynne talking about how Kids These Days do grammar all wrong and you can't use "they" for gender neutral (even though there's records of it going back centuries) and how you must fight a war to preserve grammar as it is (nevermind regional dialect difference). There's this whole problematic aura hovering over the whole thing that really slows down what you're there for (you know, grammar).
I say skip this book entirely and just read Strunk's.
Read
January 4, 2022Not just a book on grammar, but also an interesting critique on modern English & English education (education in general, really) and a refreshing take on language and what makes it great. An inspo. Logged on just to forever save it to my digital bookshelf.
July 9, 2017
While I am very familiar with grammar, this was still an interesting read. I was disappointed to learn that the end of the book is Strunk's Elements of Style because I enjoyed Gwynne's writing.
March 3, 2026
Here’s a primer on English grammar & style. Part of Zaytuna College’s curriculum, through which I found out about it, Gwynne’s Grammar was one of the first texts I read on the subject.
Right language leads to right understanding, to right decisions, to right living, to happiness. “Therefore, happiness depends at least partly on good grammar,” says the author Neville M. Gwynne; incalculable chaos ensues otherwise! His reasoning, needless to say, is definitely fallacious at points, but there is truth in the idea that right language matters.
For that, Gwynne’s chapters on parts of speech & syntax stand out, with their scrupulous definitions & elaborations. His definitions ought to be taught to & memorized by youth (when language-learning is at its peak), & serve as reminders for the well-seasoned. The inclusion of etymologies too breathes life into many dry-clay terms.
His chapter on prosody (verse-writing) in this edition - not found in earlier editions - was especially excellent: his arguments & judgments there hit their mark! Included too is most of William Strunk Jr.’s 1918 original The Elements of Style, that classic guide to clarity & expression in writing, lightly edited by Gwynne himself for the modern day - forming a different recension of the text from E. B. White’s. Reading Strunk is a writer’s rite of passage, it seems.
Yet as enthusiastically as I agree with the author on some points, I respectfully & strongly disagree with him on others. For one, he’s pedantic & rigid on many issues for which I find more leeway & space for subjectivity. That old ghost - the prescriptivist grammarians versus descriptivist linguists debate (as covered in books such as Founding Grammars by Rosemary Ostler, among others) - lingers here.
The stability provided by grammar’s logical consistency is crucial; yet language is more flexible than Gwynne gives it credit for. Read The Unfolding of Language by Guy Deutscher. Things change, develop, evolve - & still make sense. The effectiveness of language, of rhetoric at times involves breaking rules, Gwynne admits, when done wisely & judiciously; yet his rigidity on many points would seem to belie that. Some of his judgments too seem arbitrary, out of touch with reality.
Regardless, this book remains a valuable guide to English grammar & style, especially for its definitions & some of its discussions. Worth the read, yes.
Right language leads to right understanding, to right decisions, to right living, to happiness. “Therefore, happiness depends at least partly on good grammar,” says the author Neville M. Gwynne; incalculable chaos ensues otherwise! His reasoning, needless to say, is definitely fallacious at points, but there is truth in the idea that right language matters.
For that, Gwynne’s chapters on parts of speech & syntax stand out, with their scrupulous definitions & elaborations. His definitions ought to be taught to & memorized by youth (when language-learning is at its peak), & serve as reminders for the well-seasoned. The inclusion of etymologies too breathes life into many dry-clay terms.
His chapter on prosody (verse-writing) in this edition - not found in earlier editions - was especially excellent: his arguments & judgments there hit their mark! Included too is most of William Strunk Jr.’s 1918 original The Elements of Style, that classic guide to clarity & expression in writing, lightly edited by Gwynne himself for the modern day - forming a different recension of the text from E. B. White’s. Reading Strunk is a writer’s rite of passage, it seems.
Yet as enthusiastically as I agree with the author on some points, I respectfully & strongly disagree with him on others. For one, he’s pedantic & rigid on many issues for which I find more leeway & space for subjectivity. That old ghost - the prescriptivist grammarians versus descriptivist linguists debate (as covered in books such as Founding Grammars by Rosemary Ostler, among others) - lingers here.
The stability provided by grammar’s logical consistency is crucial; yet language is more flexible than Gwynne gives it credit for. Read The Unfolding of Language by Guy Deutscher. Things change, develop, evolve - & still make sense. The effectiveness of language, of rhetoric at times involves breaking rules, Gwynne admits, when done wisely & judiciously; yet his rigidity on many points would seem to belie that. Some of his judgments too seem arbitrary, out of touch with reality.
Regardless, this book remains a valuable guide to English grammar & style, especially for its definitions & some of its discussions. Worth the read, yes.
February 9, 2024
I mostly dislike this book and the author's tone throughout as it comes off incredibly snobby and pedantic for the sake of pedantry, but I did enjoy reading about different perspectives on the more niche mechanics of grammar. Some of these rules are outdated, useless, or even function against grammatical efficiency/clarity, yet Gwynne's staunchly prescriptivist point of view argues, in many cases, that we keep these rules because they have and always will be (yawn).
This comes out in the preface where the author throws an eye roll inducing fit over the use of singular "they" pronouns, and states that he has a right mind to argue for the all-inclusive "he" pronoun because (to paraphrase the author) it was traditionally the "correct" usage and we can cherry pick instances of women using he to refer to "both sexes". Therefore, women are broadly cool with it and we should, too - surely, it's a better alternative than using the ghastly singular "they"! (/s)
Read it if you want a more traditional perspective on grammar, take what you want from it, but recognize that language is and always has been changing to adapt to contemporary and local cultural needs. Gwynne's demeanor of choosing to die on a hill of rigid rules because he views grammar as some elite institution is... definitely a choice!
This comes out in the preface where the author throws an eye roll inducing fit over the use of singular "they" pronouns, and states that he has a right mind to argue for the all-inclusive "he" pronoun because (to paraphrase the author) it was traditionally the "correct" usage and we can cherry pick instances of women using he to refer to "both sexes". Therefore, women are broadly cool with it and we should, too - surely, it's a better alternative than using the ghastly singular "they"! (/s)
Read it if you want a more traditional perspective on grammar, take what you want from it, but recognize that language is and always has been changing to adapt to contemporary and local cultural needs. Gwynne's demeanor of choosing to die on a hill of rigid rules because he views grammar as some elite institution is... definitely a choice!
abandoned-dnf
September 8, 2017I checked this out of the library with the thought it might be a good idea to brush up on my basic grammar. I was befuddled recently when someone asked me to explain what "nominative case" meant, and I couldn't remember the definition. Hey, college was a long time ago.
It was all I could do to get as far as I did with it, which was about the 40% mark. This was not because of the material, but because of the author's pedantic style and obvious contempt for anyone (or any country) whose language use doesn't conform to his precise ideals. Honestly, for a few pages, I thought this was a failed attempt at sarcastic humor; that's how utterly stuffed his shirt is. I've been known to throw a good rant about starting sentences with conjunctions or fewer/less myself, but I don't think Western Civilization is going to collapse because Americans and Brits differ on where to put commas used with quotation marks.
Gwynne's Grammar actually is William Strunk's 1918 (out-of-copyright and thus free)grammar reprinted wholesale, preceded by a huge amount of imperious, fustian verbal flatulence. Better to skip the gas cloud and download something more useful and less obnoxious.
It was all I could do to get as far as I did with it, which was about the 40% mark. This was not because of the material, but because of the author's pedantic style and obvious contempt for anyone (or any country) whose language use doesn't conform to his precise ideals. Honestly, for a few pages, I thought this was a failed attempt at sarcastic humor; that's how utterly stuffed his shirt is. I've been known to throw a good rant about starting sentences with conjunctions or fewer/less myself, but I don't think Western Civilization is going to collapse because Americans and Brits differ on where to put commas used with quotation marks.
Gwynne's Grammar actually is William Strunk's 1918 (out-of-copyright and thus free)grammar reprinted wholesale, preceded by a huge amount of imperious, fustian verbal flatulence. Better to skip the gas cloud and download something more useful and less obnoxious.
March 14, 2016
Taking in Gwynne separates one into the camp that there is a right way to write. Mr Gwynne is severe. He accepts the original Strunk & White, but not the revision. The basic argument is that language is rule-based; so follow the rules. Chaos results otherwise.
It's easy to laugh, but we may better off, if we followed this concise book of a few chapters combined with the original Strunk & White. It can be read quickly, but there is little point in so doing.
It's easy to laugh, but we may better off, if we followed this concise book of a few chapters combined with the original Strunk & White. It can be read quickly, but there is little point in so doing.
December 31, 2015
This is a reference book about grammar. It talks about all the details, phrases, clauses, punctuation, usage, etc. The author has a very high opinion of himself. Somewhere in the book he says, only half jokingly, that this is one of the most important books ever published in English.
Despite the author's egotism, the book is a good reference. Grammar is kind of like driving. It's a skill we all make use of every day, but it does one good to occasionally think about how to do it better.
Despite the author's egotism, the book is a good reference. Grammar is kind of like driving. It's a skill we all make use of every day, but it does one good to occasionally think about how to do it better.
March 2, 2015
Half of this little book includes the original Strunk on Style, but the rest is a fun-to-read grammar refresher, and an enlightening chapter on writing verse.
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June 19, 2015425 G995 2014
May 26, 2017
This was not the book I was hoping it would be. I read a book awhile ago that gave examples of some of the basic mistakes in our everyday talking (e.g. oral vs verbal, bemused vs amused, alluding vs eluding, under vs imply, fewer vs less). This book would probably be excellent for an English major...but just not me. I'm not sure if I should give it 2 stars or 3. Only read this if you want some heavy detail.
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