Charts the rise and fall of this infamous punctuation mark, which for years was the trendiest one in the world of letters. But in the nineteenth century, as grammar books became all the rage, the rules of how we use language became both stricter and more confusing, with the semicolon a prime example. Watson reveals how traditional grammar rules make us less successful at communication with each other than we might think. She argues that even the most...

"25 Great Sentences and How They Got That Way is for word lovers, readers interested in encountering new authors or revisiting favorite works, and aspiring writers. The author, a master English teacher at Horace Mann for several decades, leads readers on a delightful tour of sentences by authors in the canon, using deft analysis and humor to "look under the hood" and allow us to see what makes a sentence great"--

Just as we should think before we speak, we need to think before we write.Most of us are not poets or novelists, but we are all writers. We email, text, and post; we craft memos and reports, menus and outdoor signage, birthday cards and sticky notes on the fridge.Get a Grip on Your Grammar is a grammar book for those who hate grammar books, a writing resource filled with quick answers and a playful style-not endless, indecipherable grammar jargon.Get...

"Whether it's for a professional document, a school paper, an Internet blog, or something more personal, effective communication depends on clear, concise, and grammatically correct writing. Punctuation, spelling, and grammar rules can trip up anyone, while organization and word choice can make writing memorable--or banal. Whether you are writing a term paper, a scientific article, a resume, a business email, a text message, or presenting information...

"Standard grammar and accurate spelling are widely considered hallmarks of a good education, but their exact definitions are much more contentious -- capable of inciting a full-blown grammar war at the splice of a comma, battles readily visible in the media and online in the comments of blogs and chat rooms. With an accessible and enthusiastic journalistic approach, Ostler considers these grammatical shibboleths, tracing current debates back to America's...

"The elements of style like you've never seen them before. Explore the personalities of the punctuation marks we use every day with this bold, typographic journey through grammar. Each chapter in This is Me, Period introduces one of the major pieces of punctuation and all of its idiosyncracies, including: the dashing em dash--; so-called 'quotation marks'; the colon: and on and on; the shouty exclamation!; the three dots of ...; (don't forget the...

English Grammar All-in-One For Dummies is packed with everything you need to know to communicate with confidence--in your writing, on standardized tests, at work, on social media, and everywhere else. Strong verbal and written skills can help you get where you want to be, and this easy-to-understand Dummies guide will help you understand the English grammar principles you need to know so you can improve your understanding of basic grammar and punctuation...

Title Page; Copyright Page; Contents; To the Teacher; To the Student; 1. Definition of phrasal verbs, separable/inseparable, and transitive/intransitive; 2. Phrasal verbs and do, does, and did; 3. Three-word phrasal verbs; 4. Present and past continuous phrasal verbs; 5. Stress in two-word phrasal verbs, part 1; 6. Stress in three-word phrasal verbs, part 1; 7. Separable phrasal verbs with long objects; 8. Present perfect phrasal verbs; 9. Two-word...