English Grammar For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyle))

English Grammar for Dummiesby Geraldine Woods..Reviewed by C J Singh (Berkeley, California).Lucid Expository Prose with Witty Usage ExamplesAs a long-time volunteer teacher of college-writing skills to ESL migrants and immigrants, I found using English Grammar by Geraldine Woods as the textbook more effective than several others I had used in my teaching. The great draw of the book is Woods' wonderful sense of humor in presenting examples of usage. Moreover, for migrants and immigrants to understand and appreciate the humor of their newly adopted country in North America is a faster track toward integration. The new edition (THIRD, 2017) presents many humorous examples. Here are two brief examples from the new edition about omission/inclusion of apostrophes.“Taking a walk recently, I noticed an odd sign: GRANDMAS PUNCH. Interesting, I thought. Grandmas punch whom? Their grandchildren? Surely not! People who refuse to look at one more photo of the adorable tykes? Possibly. I soon realized that the sign was in front of a bar. Ah, I thought. Grandma’s punch – a drink made from a family recipe” (page 168). Recalling this humorous example will bring to active memory the specific underlying grammar rule more likely than the bare rule itself. Professional copyeditors have observed that misuse of it’s/its is among the most frequent errors in manuscripts submitted to them. Woods writes: “It’s an its problem. I’m not talking about how a poison-ivy rash feels. I’m talking about a possessive pronoun ('its') and a contraction ('it’s'). 'Its' shows possession: The computer has exploded, and its screen is now decorating the ceiling. It’s means it is: It’s raining cats and dogs, but I don’t see any alligators. So it’s nice to know that grammar has its own rules. By the way, one of those rules is that no possessive pronoun ever has an apostrophe. Ever. Never. Never ever. Remember: If 'it' owns something, dump the apostrophe” (pages 336-337).The paragraph above opens with an easy-to-remember sentence that illustrates inclusion as well as omission of apostrophe, presents two more examples in the middle, and closes with another easy-to-remember sentence that illustrates inclusion as well as omission of apostrophe.The numerous witty examples in this 400-page book earn it five shiny stars. Its companion Workbook edition 2 is equally good. I look forward to the publication of its (NOT it’s) companion Workbook's third edition.C. J. Singh received his MFA degree in Creative Writing; and earlier a PhD in Psychology at Stanford. <[email protected]>

This book is a great refresher for those of us who have the task of teaching the rudiments of Language Arts to primary students. I learned most of these rules decades ago to a point where they became second nature to me. This book puts the rules in perspective and brings them down to a level I can even translate into my own 1st grade classroom. It's tone is father conversational and lighthearted but the author never loses sight of why the reader chose to purchase this material. Clear explanations and fun at the same time. A total win-win!!

I am teaching 20 young men English who are Vietnamese speakers. Every night they must learn 10 new words — one lesson. This is a supplement to another program that we are using.

I’m very happy with this purchase. It’s helpful and funny. I use this as part of my high school homeschool curriculum. The humor keeps us laughing while we learn.

That is right it helped me get an A in my English college class

I don't know if this is a good grammar book or not because I can't read the tiny text.

Easy ro understand

It a book for native english speakers rather than a second english language dude. I found it difficult to read it at the first saw and understand for my english level (C1).

I love it. Even there is a code for online use

brilliant!

This book is a lifesaver! I am learning to be a proofreader, and ”Grammar for Dummies” taught me everything I needed to know about the rules of grammar without filling my head with a bunch of technical jargon. I read the book cover to cover in less than a week, and I am already noticing a huge improvement in my proofreading skills! I am so excited that I just bought the ”Proofreading for Dummies” book too! I have no doubt that between the grammar book and the proofreading book, I will be unstoppable!

Bought this for a friend whos son and herself need help with grammar and they love it.

Bought it for my daughter and she tells me its a great help.