Oxford A-Z of Grammar and Punctuation

by John Seely

The Oxford A-Z of Grammar and Punctuation offers accessible and coherent explanations across a broad range of topics, and is an excellent first port of call for any reader seeking clear, authoritative help with grammar and punctuation. Incorporating hundreds of examples of real usage taken from the Oxford English Corpus, this handy volume contains more than 300 alphabetically-arranged entries, including standard grammatical terms such as active voice , conjunction , pronoun , synonym , and transitive verb . It also discusses related questions of usage, including how to distinguish between 'may or might', 'that or which', and 'it's or its'. Over 30 feature entries on major headwords like adverb, clause, and spelling include diagrams listing related terms.

The A-Z has been fully revised and updated, and the structure and approach has been revisited to improve its accessibility, including clearer typographical conventions, and the reintroduction of the easy-to-use two-colour format found in early editions. Major headwords have been made (where possible) shorter and easier to navigate, and all sample sentences have been revised, replacing those that are out of date and adding new ones where needed. Readers of all levels will find this volume to be an essential tool for writing at home, in the office, at school, and at college.

Genres: Reference, Writing, Nonfiction, Language, Linguistics

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Asiuol K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seely has produced an efficient book that explains grammar and punctuation in a straightforward manner. This is really important because I have endured multiple books that have tried to be hip and it does not work. Instead, Seely used an alphabetical format, which is great for when you need more information on a certain topic than another (like when I skipped a definition and ended up needing it later in the book). The explanations on common errors are mentioned in an eloquent way so it didn't make me feel like an idiot when I discovered how wrong I have been throughout my years of writing. My main issue, however, was that Seely explained certain structural words a bit too much for my liking. I ended up skipping a lot of them. If you're uncertain about your grammar, I highly recommend keeping this book by your side as you continue in your studies. 8.7/10

[Kieran McLoughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mainly wanted this book to catch up with what terms and conditions I may have missed during my years at school. Essentially as a writer I felt now was the time to get back to the nuts and bolts of the craft and possibly learn new concepts I hadn't been taught. Needless to say, this was a really solid and compact guide to everything grammar and punctuation. Covers pretty much everything you'd want to know and understand, providing great examples and countless graphs to help emphasise it's points. In all, I'd absolutely recommend this to only who's a writer or studying the subject of the English language. It's really small and handy to read through, well worth the investment and time.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I shall carry it with me always.

[Ujjwal Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is very much essentials for every one reread English grimmer again.

[Tess McCuunty · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book would have been a great success if its objective had been to demonstrate all the grammatical mistakes conceivable. What does it even mean when the author, having given instructions, bothers to go against them himself? More than seventy per cent of the time, the author makes no distinction between the restrictive and the non-restrictive uses of relative clauses.

[Angus Mcfarlane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somewhat ironically for a book about correct use of English, this contains a few oversights, but otherwise gives an excellent oversight of good grammar. In spite of the challenges English presents as a result of the historical precedents in it's rules, there is much that is quite logical once the terminology and rationales are known. I am far from grasping much of this, however, as it passed me by during schooling (most likely because it was never taught, but I can't be sure).

This will be my companion for any future writing to ensure I have an objective means to assist good style and clear writing.

[Janett Wawrzyniak · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main arrangement of this book is alphabetical. This reference book provides a brief introduction to English grammar: for readers who have little or no background knowledge. Explained are the types of sentences, their components and patterns. For analyzing how sentences work there are a number of separate but related grammatical levels. Definition for word placement is also given with much more. Clear instruction in this one book with many examples, can enhance daily usage for everyone.

[Kylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to 5 star a grammar book, let's just be real about that, especially when you look at the words and wonder just how many different types of nouns and adverbs there are. Ugh. A required read for my course.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is remarkable how many grammatical mistakes this book contains. The distinction between the restrictive and the no restrictive uses of relative clauses is very often not observed and, though it is not strictly grammatical errors, the author here refuses to put commas.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well Im currently reading the dictionary to enhance my understanding of the English language. The front cover is very intresting with its mesmirising colours attracting the attention of its readers

[Tanis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this very much. It's too basic to be useful.