Questions about Betty Schrampfer Azar's book

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Hi all,I'm studying Betty Schrampfer Azar's book, Understanding and Using English Grammar Second Edition. What do you think about the book? Is it a good book?I'm also want to ask about the explanation given in: - page 199She said that "seats" should be read as "seat + s" but "seeds" should be read as "seed + z". I don't understand the explanation she gave about the reason.- page 9She said that two syllable verbs such as "listen" (1st syllable stressed) is spelled as "listening" (one ''n'') in -ing form, but "begin" (2nd syllable stressed) is spelled as beginning (two ''n'') in -ing form. I don't understand her explanation about the 1st and 2nd syllable stressed.Could anyone explain about these matters?Thank you.Bowo

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hi all, I'm studying Betty Schrampfer Azar's book, Understanding and Using English Grammar Second Edition. What do you think about the book? Is it a good book?[/nq]
Azar's book is something of a standard text in language teaching today. Most people who are familiar with it like it. I do too, but there are slightly better grammar teaching books out there.
However, why are you using the second edition? The third edition of UUEG came out in 1999. If you're using an old copy of the book as a self-study guide, there are other texts that would be more effective.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi all, I'm studying Betty Schrampfer Azar's book, Understanding and Using English Grammar Second Edition. What do you think about ... s" but "seeds" should be read as "seed + z". I don't understand the explanation she gave about the reason.[/nq]
No reason. Just usage. Any time you have a written s after a t it's pronounced as an s.
meats, meets, feats, regrets, suspects, directs
Any time you have a written s after a d its pronounced z.

deeds, needs, succeeds
[nq:1]- page 9 She said that two syllable verbs such as "listen" (1st syllable stressed) is spelled as "listening" (one ... spelled as beginning (two ''n'') in -ing form. I don't understand her explanation about the 1st and 2nd syllable stressed.[/nq]
Again, it's usage. Some 2 syllable verbs emphasize 1st syllable, others 2nd.
LIST-en. beGIN.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Hi all, I'm studying Betty Schrampfer Azar's book, Understanding and ... I don't understand the explanation she gave about the reason.[/nq]
[nq:1]No reason. Just usage. Any time you have a written s after a t it's pronounced as an s. meats, meets, feats, regrets, suspects, directs Any time you have a written s after a d its pronounced z. deeds, needs, succeeds[/nq]
It to do with vo8ced and unvoiced consonants. The normal plural ending is voiced, i.e. pronounced like "z", but after the unvoiced consonants, "f", "k", "p", "t" it is also unvoiced, i.e. pronounced like "s".

There are some words ending in "f", or rather with the "f" sound", that have slightly irregular pluraly . The unvoiced "f" is transformed into a voiced "v" and the ending is also voiced, e.g. wife/wives, life/lives, knife/knives, leaf, leaves.
John Ramsay has explained the doubling of the final consonant in multi-syllable verbs. However in British English a final "l" after a vowel is always doubled, e.g. travel/travelled

, rebel/rebelled (reBEL) - in American English only the latter has double "l". There are a few minor exceptions, eg. kidnap/kidnapped (KIDnap) and words ending in "x" like mix/mixed.
Regards, Einde O'Callaghan

Usenet · Answer

Could you please mention some other textbooks which you think more effective than UUEG as a self study guide?
Thanks,
Bowo

Usenet · Answer

There's always a danger in this, but...
First, equip yourself with the some good reference works. If I were in your shoes, I would buy a small bilingual dictionary and a large English learner's dictionary (Oxford Advanced English Learner's Dictionary is a good choice, although not head and shoulders above all the rest anymore).
I would also get a copy of a book called Practical English Usage, by Michael Swan. This book will be able to answer, more or less, all your questions about confusing issues in the language.
If you can't afford these books (and they are quite expensive), you should be able to find them in a library somewhere in your area.

Now, for self-study books, I would largely stick to Cambridge University Press products. English Grammar in Use, 3rd edition, along with the Supplementary Exercises volume for review, will help you truly get a grasp on grammar. English Vocabulary in Use, at pre-intermediate/intermediate, upper intermediate, and advanced levels will help you develop vocabulary.
One of the most annoying things about attempting to learn a language through self-study is that you will always run up against grammar and usage phenomenon that your books will not explain well, or that you will not be able to find an explanation for in your books. When things like this happen, it is quite frustrating. Come to this group and ask questions.
Regarding American English and British English: don't worry too much about the difference until you understand the basics of the whole language. All the works that I've cited are primarily used by learners interested in learning British English, but Cambridge makes American English products based on them as well.
If you are actually in a place where English is the language of everyday life, you will need your vocabulary and usage reference books far more than if you are living in a place where your access to English is limited and manageable.
There are many other things that you can do to learn English through self-study, but these are the books which I would invest in.

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