Do you cringe when a talking head pronounces “niche” as NITCH? Do you get bent out of shape when your teenager begins a sentence with “and”? Do you think British spellings are more “civilised” than the American versions? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’re myth-informed.In Origins of the Specious, word mavens Patricia T. O’Conner and Stewart Kellerman reveal why some of grammar’s best-known “rules” aren’t—and never were—rules at all. This playfull...

This all-in-one reference is a quick and easy way for book, magazine, online, academic, and business writers to look up sticky punctuation questions for all styles including AP (Associated Press), MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), and Chicago Manual of Style.Punctuate with Confidence—No Matter the StyleConfused about punctuation? There’s a reason. Everywhere you turn, publications seem to follow different rules on ...

Collins Webster’s Easy Learning Grammar is an accessible guide to English grammar and punctuation.With clear, concise explanations on everything from adverbs to word order, and from apostrophes to semicolons, this e-book is indispensable for understanding correct usage.Collins Webster’s Easy Learning Grammar is a uniquely helpful guide to all areas of English grammar and punctuation, providing clear guidance through the intricacies of the English language.Each gramm...

Lynne Truss's 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves' injected new life into the long-standing arguments over rights and wrongs in English usage. Now David Crystal brings together his own distinctive style and unique expertise to provide the first thorough-going assessment of the ongoing debate. With a lively, humorous, and accessible approach, Crystal charts the battles past and present, illustrating the characters and attitudes involved from a wide range of written sources. He combines a chronological...

One of the country’s three official languages, New Zealand Sign Language evolved in the communities that grew from networks of Deaf children at three schools for the Deaf from the late nineteenth century. The Dictionary of New Zealand Sign Language (1997) now an invaluable online resource at nzsl.vuw.ac.nz and the Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Sign Language (BWB, 2003) were landmarks in documenting the language. A formidable body of scholarly research lies in these volumes, driven by t...

"A provocative and jaunty romp through the dos and don'ts of writing for the internet" (NYT)--the practical, the playful, and the politically correct--from BuzzFeed copy chief Emmy Favilla.A World Without "Whom" is Eats, Shoots & Leaves for the internet age, and BuzzFeed global copy chief Emmy Favilla is the witty go-to style guru of webspeak.As language evolves faster than ever before, what is the future of "correct" writing? Whe...

Learn the rules of the English language with this easy and engaging style guide.Grammar is complicated. But many textbooks and style guides are often so long and tedious that even English teachers use them as a classroom doorstop.Grammar 101 is a fun, comprehensive guide focusing on the essentials of grammar. With simple explanations and entertaining examples, you can learn everything you need to know to employ commas, semicolons, and em dashes wit...

With more than a thousand new entries and more than 2,300 word-frequency ratios, the magisterial fourth edition of this book-now renamed Garner's Modern English Usage (GMEU)-reflects usage lexicography at its finest. Garner explains the nuances of grammar and vocabulary with thoroughness, finesse, and wit. He discourages whatever is slovenly, pretentious, or pedantic. GMEU is the liveliest and most compulsively readable reference work for writers of our time. It delights while pro...

Taiwanese Grammar: A Concise Reference is an unprecedented guide delivering clear, straightforward explanations of Taiwanese grammar while offering insightful comparisons to Mandarin Chinese. Designed to be both functional and accessible, the text makes searching for topics quick and easy with fully cross-referenced entries and a comprehensive index.Topics covered range broadly from parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adverbs, etc.) to grammatical topics (aspect, negati...

Mastering the details of English grammar and style can be a slow and painful process. With clear, no-nonsense explanations and examples, Idiot's Guides: Grammar and Style makes learning the finer points of the English language easy. The book focuses on what people really need to know — the mechanics of writing, the parts of speech, proper punctuation and capitalization, and the most common errors (and how to avoid and fix them). Exercises that reinforce learning are also packed in...

Should I say "He is taller than I" or "He is taller than me?"Do you spell it "blond" or "blonde"?If you’ve ever been stopped in your tracks by questions like these, then this book is for you. A complete pocket guide to the ins and outs of everyday English, The Basics of English Usage will tell you all you need to know about such topics as:correct spellinggood grammar and stylepunctuation and how to use...

Words have come a long way since they were invented as a nifty tool to help us communicate. We have played with them, made up rules for them, added bits to them and taken bits off. We've gathered them into languages, adopted and defined them. The words we use say so much about who we are, yet most of them slip from our mouths without a second thought.The Book of Words is a brief pause for reflection in the ever-changing life of words, a snapshot of the English language and how we u...