A Grammar Book For You and I...Oops, Me

This book will introduce you to some of the main categories of words and their functions in clauses and sentences. It is a very humorous introduction to grammar - one of the few grammar books that may actually make you lough out loud. I couldn't recommend it more highly as an introduction - but it is ONLY an introduction.Once you read this book, good next steps would be:- Cindy Vitto's "Sentence by Diagram: Understanding English Grammar through Traditional Sentence Diagraming" (ISBN 1551117789) and- Cindy Vitto's "Grammar by Diagram Workbook" (ISBN 1551119013)Edward Good's and Cindy Vitto's grammar books complement one another extremely well. I wish they were mandatory readings for all elementary school children and/or high school students. Then so many students would not have so much trouble writing proper sentences. If you read these three books and work through the sentence-diagramming exercises in the latter two, you will know more about English grammar than probably 90% of English-speaking people.If you would like to learn even more about grammar after reading these three books, then good next steps would be:- Betty Schrampfer Azar's "Understanding and Using English Grammar, 3rd edition (ISBN 0130976059),- Seth Lindstromberg's "English Prepositions Explained" (ISBN 9027211744),- Geoffrey Leech's slim but extremely insightful "Meaning and the English Verb" (ISBN 0582784573),- Geoffrey Leech's, Randolph Quirk's, Sidney Greenbaum's and Jan Svartvik's exhaustive "Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language" (ISBN 0582517346) and- Rodney Huddleston's and Geoffrey Pullum's exhaustive "Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (ISBN 0521431468)If you read and understand all of these books, you'll become a grammar expert.If you're interested in phonetics, then I couldn't recommend the following two masterpieces more highly:- J.C. Catford's "Practical Introduction to Phonetics" (ISBN 0199246351) and- J.C. Catford's "Fundamental Problems in Phonetics" (ISBN 025332520X).

Needing more than Strunk & White's excellent but all-too-brief guide, I chose this book because of its popularity and highly favorable reviews here on Amazon. With clear prose that itself exemplifies what he teaches, Mr. Good succeeds in the Herculean task of explaining English grammar. Beginning with a chapter each for the eight parts of speech, Good then makes four suggestions for writers: use fewer nouns and more verbs, rely less on the verb "to be," favor the active voice over the passive, and use phrases more than clauses. If you're like me, and you don't even remember what a clause is (a clause contains a conjugated verb; a phrase does not), you'll like Mr. Good for adding a little humor: some of our language's baffling rules are attributed to cave-dwelling ancestors Amber and Igor, with whom Good has made his grade-school grammar teacher, Miss Hamrick, contemporary. Good then teaches you to make your basic well-cast sentences come alive by using subordination, parallel construction, and noun substitution (instead of nouns, using prepositional, adjectival, adverbial, verbal and other phrases). Finally, the book presents thirteen brief chapters each addressing a common grammatical pitfall, such as "who" versus "whom", and finishes with eleven chapters covering the eleven English punctuation marks. Whether you write for a living or for fun, or just want to understand the language, your ability to write, to communicate, and to think will be greatly helped by this worthy book.

I own and have used numerous grammar books, and this one is without a doubt THE best grammar book on the market for the general reader. Mr. Good starts on the ground floor, so that no previous knowledge of grammar is needed. At the same time, however, he does not talk down to the reader, nor does he shy away from many aspects of grammar that other books deem too complex for beginners. Everything is explained here with perfect clarity, and nothing important is left out. Moreover, beyond Mr. Good's superlative explanations of grammar, this book earns 10 stars because Mr. Good shows us how our knowledge of grammar can improve our writing. He does this not with airy praise of grammatical education, but with concrete examples and advice that you can start using to improve your writing immediately. This book is not short, and it's not full of jokes and cartoons. But, if you really want to learn grammar and to write and speak better, buy this book now and read it from cover to cover. I can't think of any better way to spend your money and time.

The fact that you are reading this review indicates that you are interested in grammar. That means you should buy this book, as it is certainly one of the better books on this topic. What I especially like is that it does not treat you as a grammarian and it reviews many basics of sentence structure - and it is an enjoyable read. Yes, you still should have a copy of "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White if you're serious about good writing, but this book is a clear, single source, winner to me. I write articles, books and websites. I routinely seek good reference advice. That includes this book.

I worked with this author at a Washington law firm. He is awesome! I bought his book years ago and could not find my copy. Of course I had to buy another one! Great book!

Good's book is used almost daily in my law practice. He has helped me understand how to use "that" and "which." Two different places in the book his quick, clear, and unambiguous help with when to use "that" and when to use "which" are often consulted. Good provides helpful direction regarding the formation of plural nouns - when to use "s" and when to use "es." I strongly recommend this book to every new lawyer joining our firm with the admonition, "Keep it nearby at all times."

This book is a keeper, really filled in all the blanks I needed for grammar basics.

You do not want to put this book down once you start reading it. You read it like a novel, and it never kills your hunger to consume more of its contents. It builds your confidence, not only in the English grammar but also in the writing skills. A great book to read!

A little disappointed as a number of the issues the book actually deals with aren't that easy to find in the contents. Also the explanations offered could be made simpler.

The book arrived in perfect condition and is affordable.

arrived on time and as described. could not ask for more.