Selected Product: | Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English, Second Edition Paperback Edition: 2nd Author: Patricia T. O'Conner Publisher: Riverhead Trade Release Date: 2004-06-29 ISBN-10: 1594480060 ISBN-13: 9781594480065 List Price: $14.00 Average Customer Rating: | | The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition ISBN-10: 020530902X ISBN-13: 0076092005445 List Price:$9.95 The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition ISBN-10: 020530902X ISBN-13: 9780205309023 List Price:$9.95 Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation ISBN-10: 1592402038 ISBN-13: 9781592402038 List Price:$12.00 Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know about Writing ISBN-10: 0156010879 ISBN-13: 9780156010870 List Price:$12.00 Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose ISBN-10: 0767903099 ISBN-13: 9780767903097 List Price:$14.95 |
To use our price comparison to get the cheapest price, please click on the "Find the Cheapest Price" button located above for Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English, Second Edition by Patricia T. O'Conner (ISBN-10: 1594480060, ISBN-13: 9781594480065). At this time we have not yet written a review for Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English, Second Edition by Patricia T. O'Conner (ISBN-10: 1594480060, ISBN-13: 9781594480065). Please continue to keep checking back to this page as we are constantly adding reviews. Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com The bestselling grammar book has been updated and revised to include the latest and greatest on the basics and subtleties of English, and features a new chapter on the language of the Internet. Best Grammar Book Ever | Customer Rating: | | Where else can you find a grammar book that a 17 year old boy reads for fun? The style is engaging and fun, but the learning is real! | This book is awesome | Customer Rating: | | This is my textbook for my college English Comp. course, and I am loving it. It's full of witty comments and jokes, but it is still very clear and informative. It's very easy to learn with this book, and I highly recommend it. | Solid book for beginning writers | Customer Rating: | Do you find yourself mixing up your it's and its? Do you know the difference between all ready and already? Do you ever blindly throw commas into sentences, hoping at least one will be correct?
Woe is I solves these grammar woes and more. Patricia O'Conner clears the jargon and mystery surrounding grammar. Using simple language, she reviews pronouns, numbers, possessives, verbs, punctuation, clichés, word usage, danglers, bygone rules, and e-mail etiquette. Her book is essentially a lengthy list of the dos and don'ts of grammar, covering the common mistakes almost everyone makes.
But that's also a negative of Woe is I. More experienced writers may tire of what seems blindingly obvious to them. O'Connor doesn't go over the technical details of grammar, such as the difference between gerunds and infinitives. People looking for a comprehensive grammar guide should perhaps look elsewhere. People looking for a light grammar guide are in the right spot.
I am a little dismayed, however, over one big mistake in the book. O'Conner repeatedly claims that apostrophes are used to form the plurals of years, abbreviations, and letters. The letters part is correct (as a way to distinguish between A's and the word As). But all the style guides (which set the standard in language usage) I've read state that letters are the only exception. Years and abbreviations need only an "s," not an apostrophe and an "s."
Other than that mistake, given the right audience, Woe is I is a good resource. | Woe, this is a great book! | Customer Rating: | PRO: A witty a book that makes learning about English grammar fun!
CONS: I wish it were longer!
CONCLUSION: In the world of SMSes, IMs, and emails, we have sacrificed grammar. As a writer, I appreciate good writing. The way you write tells a lot about you, so get this book and beef up on your grammar! | Conventional but fun - very accessible | Customer Rating: | | Humorous, easy reading. The author falls on the slightly more conventional side of the grammatical fence (insisting, for example, that "their" is an incorrectly plural gender-neutral pronoun and should not be used as a singular) (I myself do not fall as conventionally and so found myself in disagreement upon several points--including this one). So far, I am reading it as I work out: I skim through the parts that are overly familiar (still written with humor so worth at least skimming), dwell on the points upon which I am less sure, and feel most pleased overall to have been reading it. An entertaining way to brush up on English grammar as we ought to have learned it in grade school. A most delicious "spoonful of sugar" for the "medicine" of grammatical review. |
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