A Proper Look at Hewings Advanced Grammar In Use
Most people come across Hewings Advanced Grammar In Use when they're already fairly comfortable with English grammar and realize there are still gaps they can't quite name. It's the advanced companion to Raymurmond's Intermediate, written by Jeanne Hewings, and it fills the space between intermediate resources and something like Swan's Practical English Usage, which is more of a reference book than a working guide. I've used this book with advanced learners over the years, and the thing that actually distinguishes it is how it handles register and nuance. Not just "this is correct" but "this is correct, and here's when you'd actually hear a native speaker use it." That distinction matters more than most people realize at the advanced level.
Hewings Advanced Grammar In Use - What It Actually Covers
The book is organized around 100 two-page spreads. Each unit presents a grammar point on the left page with clear explanations and examples, and the right page has practice exercises. It's structured the same way as the rest of the series, which means if you've used any other title in it before, you know exactly how to navigate this one. The units are grouped into thematic sections covering things like verb patterns, modal meanings, conditionals with mixed tenses, passive constructions, reported speech, cohesion and linking, and subtler points like contrastive topics and emphasis. The emphasis placement stuff alone is worth the price if you're working on academic or professional writing.
How I Actually Use This Book
I don't have students work through it linearly. That would be tedious and inefficient. Instead, I refer to it when a learner makes a recurring error or expresses confusion about something specific. If someone keeps confusing "might have done" with "should have done" in terms of the certainty implication, I pull up the relevant unit on past modals and we go from there. The exercise pages are genuinely useful, not filler. They range from controlled practice to more open-ended tasks. The open-ended ones are where the real learning happens. A typical exercise might ask you to rewrite a sentence to change the emphasis, or to complete a dialogue using a specific grammatical structure in its natural context. These require you to actually think about the language rather than just recognize a pattern. One thing I've noticed is that the book assumes a certain level of self-directed learning. It's not a textbook you can hand to someone and expect them to absorb without guidance. The explanations are concise but not elementary. If you're struggling with a concept, you might need to read through an explanation twice and then look at the examples carefully before it clicks.
Edge Cases and Known Limitations
Here's something the publishers don't advertise: this book doesn't cover British-American spelling and vocabulary differences extensively. If you're an American learner using this, you'll notice that some of the examples lean heavily toward British usage. The grammar itself is largely the same, but the contextual examples might feel slightly alien. I've had learners from the US ask me about phrases that sound unnatural to them, and the workaround has been to supplement with American-specific materials when needed. Another gap is digital-era usage. The book was published before certain communication conventions became widespread. Things like the use of the present perfect in email openings or the grammatical implications of message shorthand aren't addressed. For formal writing and exams, this isn't a problem. But if you're trying to understand casual written English as it's actually used today, you'll want additional sources. I encountered a specific problem last year with a learner who was preparing for an academic presentation. She kept using "however" at the beginning of sentences in ways that created comma splices. The relevant unit in Hewings does cover contrast linkers, but it doesn't go deeply into the punctuation conventions that accompany them in formal writing. I had to supplement with a separate resource on academic style. This isn't a flaw in the book per se - it's just that no single grammar book can cover everything. But it's worth knowing so you don't waste time searching for answers that aren't there.
Who Should Use It and Who Shouldn't
This book is for learners at approximately B2 to C1 level who want to refine their accuracy and develop a sense of appropriate usage. If you're below B2, you'll find some of the explanations assume knowledge you haven't built yet. If you're already at C2 or beyond, you might find the coverage somewhat limited - there are areas of advanced grammar that simply aren't addressed in depth. For exam preparation, particularly Cambridge Advanced (C1 Advanced) and Proficiency (C2 Proficiency), this is one of the better resources available. The practice exercises mirror the kind of analytical thinking these exams require. I've seen learners who worked through the relevant units improve their use of language scores noticeably over a few weeks of focused study. If you're looking for something more comprehensive on specific topics, like a deep dive into articles or prepositions, you might be better served by Swan or Murphy's English Grammar in Use at the appropriate level. Hewings is strongest when you need to understand the gray areas between what's grammatically correct and what's actually appropriate in context.
The book is available in both print and eBook formats. The interactive eBook version includes additional exercises that are auto-graded, which can be useful for self-study. The print version is fine if you prefer writing in books and underlining examples. I don't have a strong preference either way, though I will say that having the exercises on facing pages in the print version means you don't have to flip back and forth as much.
