What books should I study to perfect my understanding of

A Latin grammar book. Then all English books.

Seriously, learning another language will teach you a lot about English grammar, and what is what, and what should go where. Then just read the best English authors, and imitate their style.

t. Benjamin Franklin

>>10023147
http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/languages-linguistics/grammar-and-syntax/cambridge-grammar-english-language

>>10023201
This is really good advice for learning a league past the fundamentals of English grammar, but OP wants to perfect it.

>>10023201
Are you talking about contrastive analysis?

>>10024775
No, simply knowing about the parts of speech, and their relations to each other.

Most native English speakers have no idea what a 'gerund' is, and would be completely baffled if it were explained to them. But, learning Latin, the gerund is explained easily and simply in the compartmentalised context of Latin.

Upon the student's returning to English, he can then use gerunds correctly and confidently.

>>10026620
PS. Here's another example, in my post itself:
> if it were explained to them
Before Latin, I myself would not have known to use the imperfect of a verb in a contrafactual present tense apodosis to an 'if-then' construction; nor would I have had to words to describe such a construction.

Latin gives one this power, and, as a bonus, the ability to use Latin.

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>>10023201
learning Latin grammar is probably the best advice one could give you, opie. also, sentence diagramming is pretty fun, once you get the hang of it.