Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
For those who value correct grammar, Anne Stilman has written the definitive guide. She holds you to her high grammatical standards, and clearly explains how to follow the rules. There are chapters on "Spelling," "Punctuation," "Grammar," and "Style," and Stilman patiently elucidates the rules of colons, brackets, and plural formations, while gracefully tackling the common misuses of "lie" versus "lay." Her illustrative examples bring the stickiest lessons home. Quoting from Woody Allen, Vikram Seth, Mark Twain, and other likable authors, issues of pronoun choice, parallelism, and ellipses come clear. Although Stilman cuts no slack on errors, she concedes that grammar evolves. While she suggests that you avoid splitting infinitives, she also believes you shouldn't introduce excessive awkwardness merely to conform to a rule that was dogmatically decreed years ago for no particular reasons of clarity or merit.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
A time worthy book
Customer Rating:
I never knew that I made so many mistakes in my writing. This book is great for beginners, and for amateurs; I don't know about professionals though.
very good
Customer Rating:
This is my favorite grammar book. It's the only one I ever use.
It's not for beginners, though. It's for somebody who wants a more in-depth discussion of English grammar, but not so in-depth (e.g., Quirk) that it's useless. The discussion of the active versus the passive voice, for example, is four pages long.
There are plenty of examples, but no exercises. Usage is American.
In addition to grammar it also has sections on spelling and punctuation.
Note that it's smaller than paperback-sized.
Grammatically Correct
Customer Rating:
I wish I had read Grammatically Correct years ago. It is an excellent resource. L.Scott Boise, Idaho 8-9-2008
Okay but Flawed
Customer Rating:
First, my hardback version came poorly bound and the pages are likely to begin falling out soon. Second, the book indeed presents some good grammar rules, but it is rather simplistic overall (i.e., 8th grade like), so do not expect anything too great or cool grammar constructions to impress your peers. Lastly, I found several grammar problems in the text itself (e.g., on page 90 it states "These [should be there] is essentially no difference in meaning between these pairs of sentences"), which is quite shocking for a grammar book!
replace
Customer Rating:
I have wanted to replace these books. I think they are essential in helping you write any and everything.