This book extends the highly regarded Routledge Grammars series to include English. It will prove to be a tremendous boon to everyone who sometimes (or often) struggles with the language, from freshmen in composition 101 to graduate students looking to hone there skills. English: An Essential Grammar is a concise, user-friendly guide to modern English. Written specifically for native speakers, it includes: Discussion of points of usage that often cause problems Guidance on sentence building Practical spelling rules Explanations of grammatical terms An appendix of irregular verbs. Beginning with the basics and progressing gradually and systematically to more complex issues, this is the guide for anyone seeking a solid mastery of English.