Everyday Grammar Made Easy

A Quick Review of What You Forgot You Knew

Rod Mebane

• Editore: Wellfleet Press
• Anno: 2021
• ISBN:
  9780760369654
• Argomento: Languages & Linguistics
• Categoria: Grammar & Punctuation

Brush up on your grammar with this easy-to-understand and intuitively designed handbook that teaches crucial grammar principles using real-life examples. With Everyday Grammar Made Easy —an essential guide for both adults and students — confidently apply perfect grammar usage by learning:

• Correct verb agreements
• Appropriate pronoun use
• Common grammar pitfalls
• Common spelling mistakes
• And more

Begin with a quick review of basic grammar concepts, then take a deeper dive into various parts of speech and the underlying principles that guide how the different grammar parts work together, and, finally, explore common grammar and spelling pitfalls, complete with right and wrong examples. Turn to the back of the book for a glossary of grammar terms, verb guides, and useful grammar resources. With an encouraging tone to support you as you learn, sidebars to highlight important points and answer common questions, and helpful tables throughout, impeccable grammar is within your reach. Build yourgrammar skills and confidence, and develop a passion for learning more!

Get a quick review of everything you forgot you knew with the Everyday Learning series from Wellfleet Press. Need a refresher course in topics like grammar and math? Then let these handy reference books be your sidekicks on your journey to higher learning. You'll learn about timeless global topics, as well as the thought leaders responsible for some of the greatest contributions in the worlds of science, art, and more. Packed with useful information, these portable books are perfect for commuters who want to jump-start their day with useful and fun facts. With the Everyday Learning series, you'll be an expert in any field in no time. Other titles in this series include: Everyday Economics Made Easy, Everyday Mathematics Made Easy, Everyday Philosophy Made Easy, and Everyday Spanish Made Easy.

CHAPTER 1

GRAMMAR BASICS

Grammar is nothing more than a set of rules that specifies how we use words to communicate. This seems harmless enough, but for many people the word grammar comes with a bad reputation. It is probably best left to psychologists to give good reasons for its bad rep, but suffice it to say that the mere mention of grammar can prompt winces and groans and quickly thin a crowd. Yet, here you are, not only holding but also reading this book, suggesting there is something about the topic that interests you enough to get this far . . . Welcome! The main point of Everyday Grammar is to make it easier for you to become more familiar with grammar in general and better at using grammar in everyday situations. If you share this goal, then together we can demystify some of the confusing aspects of grammar and make it start working better for you.

— GRAMMAR AND YOU —

An important observation at the outset is that regardless of how much you care about grammar, it is totally indifferent to you. Grammar does not “give a hoot” about how well you understand the underlying language rules or how well you use them. Grammar is just the set of rules. It is up to you (and every individual) to determine your relationship with the rules and the extent to which you will pay attention to them. If you are looking for good reasons to strengthen your grammar skills, look no further. As you reflect on this commitment to grammar principles, here are a few things to take into consideration:

• • Grammar is essential to you (and to all of us).
• • Grammar is a critical contributor to your personal brand.
• • Grammar directly influences your clarity of thought and power of expression.

— NECESSITY OF GRAMMAR —

For someone who is not a big fan of grammar, there may be a desire just to wish it away, but that simply is not possible for any of us—as long as we want to communicate with one another. Our ability to communicate is a hallmark of being human, and our communication relies on a meaningful exchange of thoughts. In order to make that exchange and get a thought out of our brain and meaningfully into someone else’s, we need to use some kind of intervening code—an identified set of sounds and/or symbols that are commonly recognized and understood by the parties involved.

In our communication, we rely on many different codes (Morse code, American Sign Language, emoticons, body language) to exchange meaning among ourselves, but by far the most dominant code in our everyday lives is our local everyday language.

In this context, grammar is the accepted set of everyday language rules that enable the common understanding among us that is needed to foster co...