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Grammatically Correct: The Essential Guide to Spelling, Style, Usage, Grammar, and Punctuation
How does good writing stand out?
If its purpose is to convey facts, findings, or instructions, it need be read only once for its content to be clear. If its purpose is to entertain or to provoke thought, it makes readers want to come back for more.
Revised and updated, this guide covers four essential aspects of good
• Individual words - spelling variations, hyphenation, frequently confused homonyms, frequently misused words and phrases, irregular plurals and negatives, and uses of capitalization and type style to add special meanings
• Punctuation - the role of each mark in achieving clarity and affecting tone, and demonstration of how misuses can lead to ambiguity
• Syntax and structure - agreement of subject and verb, parallel construction, modifiers, tenses, pronouns, active versus passive voice, and more
• Style - advice on the less hard-and-fast areas of clarity and tone, including sentence length and order, conciseness, simplification, reading level, jargon and clicheÌs, and subtlety
Filled with self-test exercises and whimsical literary quotations, Grammatically Correct steers clear of academic stuffiness, focusing instead on practical strategies and intuitive explanations.
Discussions are designed to get to the heart of a concept and provide a sufficient sense of when and how to use it, along with examples that show what ambiguities or misinterpretations might result if the rules are not followed. In cases where there is more than one acceptable way to do something, the approach is not to prescribe one over another but simply to describe the options.
Readers of this book will never break the rules of language again - unintentionally.
If its purpose is to convey facts, findings, or instructions, it need be read only once for its content to be clear. If its purpose is to entertain or to provoke thought, it makes readers want to come back for more.
Revised and updated, this guide covers four essential aspects of good
• Individual words - spelling variations, hyphenation, frequently confused homonyms, frequently misused words and phrases, irregular plurals and negatives, and uses of capitalization and type style to add special meanings
• Punctuation - the role of each mark in achieving clarity and affecting tone, and demonstration of how misuses can lead to ambiguity
• Syntax and structure - agreement of subject and verb, parallel construction, modifiers, tenses, pronouns, active versus passive voice, and more
• Style - advice on the less hard-and-fast areas of clarity and tone, including sentence length and order, conciseness, simplification, reading level, jargon and clicheÌs, and subtlety
Filled with self-test exercises and whimsical literary quotations, Grammatically Correct steers clear of academic stuffiness, focusing instead on practical strategies and intuitive explanations.
Discussions are designed to get to the heart of a concept and provide a sufficient sense of when and how to use it, along with examples that show what ambiguities or misinterpretations might result if the rules are not followed. In cases where there is more than one acceptable way to do something, the approach is not to prescribe one over another but simply to describe the options.
Readers of this book will never break the rules of language again - unintentionally.
352 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 1997
150 people are currently reading
1050 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 35 reviews
November 4, 2018
This book assumes you know the basics. It doesn’t start out by defining particles of speech (verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc.) and then building upon what you’ve learned in a logical order. So, if you’re looking to start at the beginning, I would recommend you start with a different book and come back to this one later.
I liked how Stilman started the book with frequently misspelled words, spelling variations (UK vs. US), and homonyms. I liked that several sections had little quizzes to test what you’d just gone over, and I also liked the many examples she included to demonstrate the topic being discussed. This is a good reference book.
I liked how Stilman started the book with frequently misspelled words, spelling variations (UK vs. US), and homonyms. I liked that several sections had little quizzes to test what you’d just gone over, and I also liked the many examples she included to demonstrate the topic being discussed. This is a good reference book.
October 31, 2012
By trade I am a historian and so most of my reviews will either cover history, anthropology, (my minor) or theology (my passion). Recently, Kindle ran this book as one of the "Kindle Daily Deals" and I picked it up for a great price. I did not come to this book with high expectations. Let's face it, grammar books are not as exciting to most people as they might be to an English major. This book left me feeling pleasantly surprised. Its goal is to give the reader a refresher course on the conventions of English Grammar. However, Anne Stillman does a little more than that by giving the reader an easy, accessible and fun book to peruse. I am not an English major as may be apparent in my review. Therefore, my review may not be as useful as someone who is in this field. Nevertheless, I learned a lot of things from this book and had my memory refreshed on things that I had long forgotten.
First of all, the book is basically fun. There are sections of the book which drag a little bit. However, that has more to do with the content than the author. She did an outstanding job writing in a way that requires the reader to interact with the book. She gives examples of different texts that show mistakes and then demonstrates the correct rules. She also gives test questions at various points allowing the reader to see what he or she does may be weak in. This was a great asset to the book. It is important to not just read a book but be able to test yourself and see whether you understand the concepts. Her vocabulary is not bloated and inaccessible. She writes with a relaxed yet professional tone. There is a bit of academic language that she introduces. Most of these terms you have heard in Jr. High or High School. However, if you have not, then don't worry because she breaks it down into a manageable size.
Second of all, the book is full of important grammar rules. I love the fact that she is not stuffy. She tells you the rules but she also tells where the rules are not as clear. This was important to me because in college I would often get conflicting grammar tips from professors. She clears up some of the opinions and thoughts about the rules. There are a lot of things that are actually very dependent upon your judgment. She goes through punctuation, parts of speech, sentence structure, and tips for successful writing. Some of the things you will find that you know. Others you may know but not be able to explain how you know. This book will help you remember why these rules are set in place.It is a fairly fast paced book so obviously if you are looking for something that dives in deep then you will find this book to be unsatisfactory. However,if it is a good brush-up you are looking for then this book is for you.
Lastly, the book has great advice for aspiring writers. If you are thinking about writing a book or even a term paper this book is great to have around to reference when needed. She gives great instruction on helping your paper to flow more smoothly. She is concise and precise as she teaches the aspiring writer to do the same. She gives great examples from books and exhorts the writer to not be verbose and yet not to aspire to be as short and sweet as Hemingway. She admonishes the writer to shoot for the middle ground. On a side note, the book has great charts in it. There are some complaints about the Kindle edition but I didn't find it intolerable. The charts have a few errors on them but Kindle is working with the publisher to get these bugs worked out. In my opinion it did not detract from the work.
I did not pay full price for this book because I caught it on sale. However, I would gladly pay full price for it. It is important to have a good reference or two around, and if you don't have one then here is a good one to start with. If I do any academic writing in the future this will be my go-to book. Hopefully, as you are reading this you are not thinking I should go back and read it again. I probably should! I won't read it again but I will definitely reference it quite often. Unless you are an English major I can't see why you would need any more than this book to aid you with your grammar skills. Thanks for taking the time to read this review and I hope that it helped.
First of all, the book is basically fun. There are sections of the book which drag a little bit. However, that has more to do with the content than the author. She did an outstanding job writing in a way that requires the reader to interact with the book. She gives examples of different texts that show mistakes and then demonstrates the correct rules. She also gives test questions at various points allowing the reader to see what he or she does may be weak in. This was a great asset to the book. It is important to not just read a book but be able to test yourself and see whether you understand the concepts. Her vocabulary is not bloated and inaccessible. She writes with a relaxed yet professional tone. There is a bit of academic language that she introduces. Most of these terms you have heard in Jr. High or High School. However, if you have not, then don't worry because she breaks it down into a manageable size.
Second of all, the book is full of important grammar rules. I love the fact that she is not stuffy. She tells you the rules but she also tells where the rules are not as clear. This was important to me because in college I would often get conflicting grammar tips from professors. She clears up some of the opinions and thoughts about the rules. There are a lot of things that are actually very dependent upon your judgment. She goes through punctuation, parts of speech, sentence structure, and tips for successful writing. Some of the things you will find that you know. Others you may know but not be able to explain how you know. This book will help you remember why these rules are set in place.It is a fairly fast paced book so obviously if you are looking for something that dives in deep then you will find this book to be unsatisfactory. However,if it is a good brush-up you are looking for then this book is for you.
Lastly, the book has great advice for aspiring writers. If you are thinking about writing a book or even a term paper this book is great to have around to reference when needed. She gives great instruction on helping your paper to flow more smoothly. She is concise and precise as she teaches the aspiring writer to do the same. She gives great examples from books and exhorts the writer to not be verbose and yet not to aspire to be as short and sweet as Hemingway. She admonishes the writer to shoot for the middle ground. On a side note, the book has great charts in it. There are some complaints about the Kindle edition but I didn't find it intolerable. The charts have a few errors on them but Kindle is working with the publisher to get these bugs worked out. In my opinion it did not detract from the work.
I did not pay full price for this book because I caught it on sale. However, I would gladly pay full price for it. It is important to have a good reference or two around, and if you don't have one then here is a good one to start with. If I do any academic writing in the future this will be my go-to book. Hopefully, as you are reading this you are not thinking I should go back and read it again. I probably should! I won't read it again but I will definitely reference it quite often. Unless you are an English major I can't see why you would need any more than this book to aid you with your grammar skills. Thanks for taking the time to read this review and I hope that it helped.
May 7, 2011
Anne Stilman makes learning the essentials of good writing fun! She takes complex and often tedious issues and makes them come alive.
Could not recommend it more highly.
Could not recommend it more highly.
September 23, 2020
The book can be ponderous at time: even those of us who want to excel in our writing may find it challenging to slog through long discussions about semicolons. That said, it's a fantastic resource and a good read. Be patient and break it up and soon enough you'll be through it, and you'll be a more conscientious and (one hopes) better writer for it.
"The confusion around these words carries into all their verb forms. The past tense of lie is lay (I lay on the sofa until I felt better; he lay low until the storm blew over), not laid as many people believe; and the past participle is lain (after I had lain there for a while, I got up), not laid. The past tense of lay is laid (I laid the box on the table; she laid her head on the pillow), not lay as many people believe; and its past participle is also laid (she insisted that she had laid the forms in their usual place), not lain. Got all that?" (p. 38)
"While respect can be used as either a noun or a verb, disrespect is a noun only." (p. 39)
"Don't fall into the error of relying on typographical tricks to infuse excitement or importance into less-than-inspired lines." (p. 59)
"As effective as italic type can be, do not rely on it excessively as a means of injecting excitement or importance. Good writers achieve emphasis through wording and punctuation, not through typological tricks." (p. 61)
"Don't treat parentheses as a way of stashing stray bits of information that don't quite fit in anywhere else." (p. 154)
"Experienced writers can distinguish between those situations where disregarding a rule is reasonable and those where disregarding it would seem just plain ignorant." (p. 268)
"The confusion around these words carries into all their verb forms. The past tense of lie is lay (I lay on the sofa until I felt better; he lay low until the storm blew over), not laid as many people believe; and the past participle is lain (after I had lain there for a while, I got up), not laid. The past tense of lay is laid (I laid the box on the table; she laid her head on the pillow), not lay as many people believe; and its past participle is also laid (she insisted that she had laid the forms in their usual place), not lain. Got all that?" (p. 38)
"While respect can be used as either a noun or a verb, disrespect is a noun only." (p. 39)
"Don't fall into the error of relying on typographical tricks to infuse excitement or importance into less-than-inspired lines." (p. 59)
"As effective as italic type can be, do not rely on it excessively as a means of injecting excitement or importance. Good writers achieve emphasis through wording and punctuation, not through typological tricks." (p. 61)
"Don't treat parentheses as a way of stashing stray bits of information that don't quite fit in anywhere else." (p. 154)
"Experienced writers can distinguish between those situations where disregarding a rule is reasonable and those where disregarding it would seem just plain ignorant." (p. 268)
December 30, 2020
This is the perfect book to cover grammar ”holes”. I like to create flash cards for better „storage” in my brain.
May 26, 2021
I have a degree in English. My concentration was Linguistics. I have a dozen textbooks on grammar. Twenty years later, I'm an author, and this book is my go-to for sticky grammar. Clear and diverse examples, easy explanations, well organized, honest about gray areas where there's no right answer.
September 26, 2014
learned a lot, especially about my own mistakes in grammar (prior to reading this, by the way ^_^).
the book itself (at least my copy) is nice to read, the letters are clear, and the size and weight fit with my hands.
as an essential writing reference, the book will forever go to my 'currently-reading' shelf.
the book itself (at least my copy) is nice to read, the letters are clear, and the size and weight fit with my hands.
as an essential writing reference, the book will forever go to my 'currently-reading' shelf.
March 15, 2010
This is a great reference book for youth to have handy while writing. I did not read this book all the way through, but skimmed it and used it myself during writing. Definitely a keeper!
November 6, 2012
By far the most instructive and entertaining book on grammar I've ever read. A perfect addition to any aspiring editor or grammar nut's bookshelf.
July 15, 2012
Wonderful. Wonderful. Did I say wonderful? I love this book. I love grammar. It's no surprise.
July 18, 2017
Not that interesting, but the contents inside are useful.
August 8, 2017
A thorough, readable resource. I enjoyed the fact that there are examples throughout the book where one can test one's knowledge.
January 1, 2022
Really good Grammar book that actually wasn’t boring!
May 20, 2021
Good resource for English Majors (especially those hoping to become teachers), as well as Creative Writers.
January 28, 2016
As a working copy editor, I found this book tremendously helpful -- and I say that really wanting to dislike the book for the sole reason that there were a lot of rules to remember. But by the end of the book, they sunk in, and it became a breeze to finish.
Some parts I felt as if I read them before verbatim, many chapters before. But even the author writes, "have a sound rationale for putting down anything that has been explained before." She does just this by repeating definitions given in previous chapters. It helps.
A three out of five would be unjust; a five would be too generous; this book is a solid four.
My advice for comprehension: Re-read the rules. Revisit them. Work over difficult parts slowly.
And in writing this review I ignore a lot of her advice in the last chapter on style and clarity. But it's a conscious thing.
Some parts I felt as if I read them before verbatim, many chapters before. But even the author writes, "have a sound rationale for putting down anything that has been explained before." She does just this by repeating definitions given in previous chapters. It helps.
A three out of five would be unjust; a five would be too generous; this book is a solid four.
My advice for comprehension: Re-read the rules. Revisit them. Work over difficult parts slowly.
And in writing this review I ignore a lot of her advice in the last chapter on style and clarity. But it's a conscious thing.
December 29, 2014
In her guide to the basics of the English language, Stilman aims at aspiring writers in search of clear, simple explanations of often-confounding rules -- and straightens us out about what doesn't matter. The book also is a good brush-up for those who think they know the rules but lack the vocabulary to explain it. Stilman does a good job of brightening up what can be a dull subject, although some tedium is inevitable; it's best to take this one in small bites or to read only those sections in which you're weakest.
February 16, 2013
Pretty good stuff. (What, you expected me to render my verdict in a grammatically complex sentence?) Not quite as diverting as Eats, Shoots and Leaves or Woe Is Me, which are both wittier, and thus for me more compelling. Yet, this covers a deep range of grammar concepts with lively writing and clear examples, and supplies excellent refresher material for aging editors like me.
The section on tenses, which is near the end, gets too deep for this grammar enthusiast. My goodness, who knew there was a past-pluperfect-progressive-future-toss-in-some-Esperanto tense?
The section on tenses, which is near the end, gets too deep for this grammar enthusiast. My goodness, who knew there was a past-pluperfect-progressive-future-toss-in-some-Esperanto tense?
October 17, 2013
The most in depth analysis of grammar I've ever read. An indispensable resource for writers, this book takes each grammar topic and provides a thorough description. But what really sets it apart are they fabulous examples that show you many different ways to use the grammar topic. All punctuation, sentence structures, and formatting issues are examined in detail. Great reference for any writer's shelf.
April 3, 2016
A lot of great tips for grammar and punctuation and very easy to understand. If you're a writer, editor, or a student, this belongs on your reference shelf. No, it doesn't cover every grammar or punctuation issue, but it does contain enough to get you started. And it's interesting enough to read for fun (if your idea of fun is reading reference works).
July 14, 2014
just finished reading this, very through and very helpful, already noticing a slight change into a my writing style although it is slightly complicated if your new to grammar but other than that, its a great book
December 29, 2014
Very useful tips on writing. I thought some of the examples were too long and some chapters were complicated. I never thought there are this many rules in English grammar even to commas!
But overall I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their writing skills.
But overall I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their writing skills.
November 19, 2008
Useful, but I don't have time for it right now.
Want to read
August 18, 2011Available for free in ebook format for a limited time -
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August 25, 2012
Would be a god reference book perhaps, but there are more interesting things out there for me to read right now.
August 18, 2021
A nice reference guide, and with that being said - it will stay on my shelf for that reason.
August 15, 2013
Good information, helpful to know why we do things or should do them and what to avoid
July 11, 2013
If you're contemplating writing anything, do not start page one without reading this book. Invaluable.
November 29, 2013
This a great and highly detailed read. A must for anyone who wants to know basically everything there is to know about grammar and punctuation.
March 7, 2014
This is one I will come back to again and again.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 35 reviews