What is the best dictionary and the best grammar book?

[Oliver_Twist]

Hi there,

What is the best dictionary for translating novels specially "Emma"?

What is the best grammar book for improving my grammar?

I know they are not simple questions. If you find them hard to answe please suggest the best dictionary and grammar book in your opinion

By the way, I corrected some dictations.

Thanks again

[emsr2d2]

Hi there,

What is the best dictionary for translating novels, especially "Emma"?

What is the best grammar book for improving my grammar?

Thanks.

Your title could not be further from the truth. Neither of those are simple questions!

[5jj]

As ems pointed out in another thread started by you, your thread title should give some idea of what the thread is going to be about. If you want us to help you, please help us.

[Chicken Sandwich]

What is the best dictionary for translating novels specially "Emma"?

I can't say which dictionary is most suited for a novel like "Emma". However, I own a number of dictionaries, and the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English stands out. I especially like the CD-ROM version which contains a recording of both the American and the British pronunciation of each word. Moreover, this dictionary contains a huge number of example sentences. For more information, check out this comparative review Comparative review of dictionaries for English learners | Antimoon

[CarloSsS]

There is no simple answer to this. If you ask me, any learner's dictionary of BrE will do. The same goes for grammar books. I particularly like Michael Swan's Practical English Usage, although there are other excellent grammar books for learners--for instance Murphy's English Grammar in Use--all of which should be sufficient for your ends.

[emsr2d2]

You need to remember though that while a dictionary will help you with the meaning of every single individual word in a Jane Austen novel, it certainly won't help you with the specific meanings of whole sentences, particularly bearing in mind that people simply don't speak or write in the same way any more.

[Tdol]

The OED or SOED might help as they will give older meanings that might be missing from contemporary dictionaries.

[BobK]

You need to remember though that while a dictionary will help you with the meaning of every single individual word in a Jane Austen novel, it certainly won't help you with the specific meanings of whole sentences, particularly bearing in mind that people simply don't speak or write in the same way any more.

Also, a dictionary with 'contemporary' in the title is unlikely to be much help in this case. I really think you should heed 5jj's warning about your choice of reading material (all the more so if you ignored the warning because you didn't understand it.)

b