zjones wrote:I'm looking for an intermediate grammar book as I'm coming to the end of my Easy French Step-by-Step. I'm hoping I can get something that will be a reference for years to come. Does anyone have recommendations? I've been looking at Routledge's French Grammar and Usage (
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1138851108/?c ... _lig_dp_it) and Grammaire Progressif du Francais Intermediaire (
https://www.amazon.com/Grammaire-Progre ... ermédiaire) but I worry that the latter won't be as useful over time.
I already searched the threads on the forum but wasn't able to find anything on Routledge's grammar. Apparently Routledge grammar has side by side formal and colloquial grammar, and that makes it very attractive to me, but lack of information about it is making me nervous. (And it's over $50.) Any help or suggestions are appreciated!
I'm afraid everyone has already read my praise for the Progressive series too many times

, but I'll write it again. I think it is one of the best resources of this kind on the planet, I wish every language had such a series. Sure, there are other good choices too. But one of the advantages of this one is the continuity. Have a look at Intermediaire, Avancé, and Perfectionnement books. They make one great bundle, tackling details and levels the other series don't even try to touch. As you are thinking about the grammar books' usefulness over time, I think you should judge these three levels of the series together, not separately.
However, there is one complaint I have about the series. The exercises are awesome for start, but without more difficult and creative follow up (the exception is the Perfectionnement book, I found those exercises sometimes very challenging). Another great choice with significantly worse grammar overviews but lots and lots of more challenging and creative exercises is l'Exercisier by Pug, which is for levels B1-B2. Some of those exercises even made me smile.
Another nice tool is Kwiziq, which several forum members have been content with. I was describing my experience with it rather lenghtily here
https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... q&start=70 As far as the digital tools go, this one is the best and it is the only website that can rival the paper based grammar exercise books.