English Grammar - The Oxford Guide To English Usage

English usage is a subject as wide as the English language itself. By far the greater part of usage, however, raises no ontroversies and poses no problems for native speakers of English, just because it is their natural idiom. But there are certain limited areas --particular sounds, spellings, words, and constructions--about which there arises uncertainty, difficulty, or disagreement. The proper aim of a usage guide is to resolve these problems, rather than describe the whole of current usage.