Oxford Modern English Grammar

Don't buy the kindle version. I made that mistake and now I am stuck with it. The kindle version has issues with lists, tables, and sidebars. It doesn't show the complete pages as in a physical book which distracts from reading the actual content and makes it feel fragmented.

The book has a lot of good new information but it is not readable: there is no flow. It is full of definitions, lists, etc. I recommend another advanced more readable book, "A Student's Introduction to English Grammar" by Huddleston and Pullmum. Even though it has student in the title but it is actually an advanced book based on the new Cambridge's Grammar by the same authors.

This review is based on fragments of the book I do not intend to read from cover to cover. The reasons you can see below.

At the time of purchase I wanted a serious grammar book for a grown-up reader, no teddy bears or tinker bell faeries to help engage my attention. I was prepared for a descriptive grammar book—where it's hard to find a reader woven into the message (he's there though: in phrases such as 'In the examples that follow' or 'It is interesting to remember' or 'Note that' or 'We can show that'). Unfortunately this one reads as if it were a huge list of the most dull equations you can imagine; as if it were a picture created by a painter for no one to see. Of course even such an obscure work of art always finds its admirers: look what happens in 'The Vivisector' by Patrick White. I love abstract art and its fancy prices, just not the Aarts's art. Clearly, this book was written either for the multitude of a highbrow bore or for the author himself with the sole purpose of summing up his life's work. I imagine there must have been passion involved (for language as a system, a little less for language as communication) and I'm sure this book adds plenty to the discussion. Only I must retire from it and, as a non-native English speaker, stick with the more pragmatics-oriented approach I have found only recently, in 'The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation'.

P.S. A quote from the Oxford Modern English Grammar: "The present tense is also commonly used to express a series of identical situations, that is, a habit." This shows how unfortunate is the author's understanding of pragmatics. Because neither 'a series' nor 'identical situations' conveys the message of habit being an intentional repetiton, meaning: there's a person behind the habit and it's this person's way of existing in time. Tenses don't float in balloons to be popped off abruptly from a book's page. If I wanted to mock even more, I'd say a series of identical situations might be as well a stamp series with a single stamp depicting an act of feudal homage.

I choose a three given that its not very comprehensible. I would recommend it to an English professor, anyone else might find it a bit over the top.

An excellent yet rare review of good grammar. The book is an erudite and clear guide for our raffish times

Good one: before reading this book,all I had was traditional grammar from middle school teacher. This is a new way to analyze English language. Also the description is quite clear.
Poor editing(kindle version): double underlined does not appear even once. Some border do not appear. Some sequences number is not correct.
Sorry for my grammar of this comment , it is a hurrying version from my poor English.

Good grammar resource. Good for settling grammar questions in ESOL classrooms

I like it better than Oxford Ancient English Grammar or, as it was released, Ye Olde Oxforde Beowulfian Grammar

Es bastante diferente al enfoque de las gramáticas española, but I try understand this language

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Who doesn't want to improve their English grammar and understanding how sentences are structured will make one a better writer.