Synopses & Reviews
This student-friendly reference handbook and workbook helps students recognize, correct, and avoid the most common and most serious grammar and usage errors. More commonsense than ever before, the fourth edition has been streamlined and redesigned to aid visual learners, with even less jargon and a clearer presentation of sample errors and corrections.
Synopsis
This student-friendly reference handbook and workbook helps students recognize, correct, and avoid the most common and most serious grammar and usage errors. More commonsense than ever before, the fourth edition has been streamlined and redesigned to aid visual learners, with even less jargon and a clearer presentation of sample errors and corrections.
Table of Contents
PREFACE Why Use This Book -- ForStudents
How to Use This Book
Grammar Without Tears
Unit 1. Understanding the Basic Sentence
1. Fragments
2. Run-ons: Fused Sentences and Comma Splices
Unit 2. Expanding the Basic Sentence
3. Commas with And, But, Or,and Other Coordinating Conjunctions
4. Punctuating Transitional Terms
5. Punctuating Adverb Clauses
Unit 3. Making Subjects and Verbs Agree
6. Nearest-Noun Agreement Errors
7. Agreement with There is andThere was
8. Agreement with Compound Subjects
Unit 4. Using Correct Verb Tenses
9. Present, Past, and Tense Shifting
10. The Past and the Perfect Tenses
Unit 5. Understanding Pronouns
11. Pronoun Agreement
12. Vague Pronouns: This, That and It
13. I or Me? She or Her? He or Him?
14. Who, Whom, and That
15. Eliminating Sexist Pronouns
Unit 6. Placing and Punctuating Modifiers
16. Commas with Introductory Elements
17. Commas with Adjective Clauses
18. Commas with Appositives
19. Dangling Modifiers
20. Misplaced Modifiers
Unit 7. Using Apostrophes Correctly
21. Apostrophes in Contractions
22. Apostrophes in Showing Possession
23. Other Uses of the Apostrophe
24. Unnecessary Apostrophes
Unit 8. Using Other Punctuation and Capitalizing Certain Words
25. Quotation Marks with DirectQuotation and Paraphrases
26. Quotation Marks with OtherPunctuation
27. Semicolons
28. Colons
29. Capitalization
Unit 9. Writing Clear Sentences
30. Parallelism
31. Passive Voice
Unit 10. ESL: Choosing the Right Article
32. Incorrect Plurals and Articleswith Noncount Nouns
33. Using A/An, Some, and The
34. Making Generalizations without Articles
Unit 11. ESL: Using Verbs Correctly
35. The Progressive Tenses
36. Using Participles as Adjectives
37. Two-word Verbs
38. Information Questions
39. Word Order in Noun Clauses
Unit 12. A Commonsense Writing Guide
40. Reading
41. Planning
42. Drafting
43. Revising
Appendix A: Brief Documentation Guide
Appendix B: Guide to Grammar Terminology
Appendix C: Glossary of Commonly Confused Words
Appendix D: Glossary of Common Two-word Verbs
ANSWER KEY
INDEX
ESL INDEX