English Grammar Workbook For Dummies

by Woods, Geraldine

• ISBN13: 9780470930700
• ISBN10: 0470930705
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-04-05
• Publisher: For Dummies

Summary

Get some good grammar practice-and start speaking and writing wellGood grammar is important, whether you want to advance your career, boost your GPA, or increase your SAT or ACT score. Practice is the key to improving your grammar skills, and that's what this workbook is all about. Honing speaking and writing skills through continued practice translates into everyday situations, such as writing papers, giving presentations, and communicating effectively in the workplace or classroom.In English Grammar Workbook For Dummies you'll find hundreds of fun problems to help build your grammar muscles. Just turn to a topic you need help with-from punctuation and pronouns to possessives and parallel structure-and get out your pencil. With just a little practice every day, you'll be speaking correctly, writing confidently, and getting the recognition you deserve at work or at school. Hundreds of practice exercises and helpful explanations Explanations mirror teaching methods and classroom protocols Focused, modular content presented in step-by-step lessonsEnglish Grammar Workbook For Dummies will empower you to structure sentences correctly, make subject and verbs agree, and use tricky punctuation marks such as commas, semicolons, and apostrophes without fear.

Author Biography

Geraldine Woods is a high school English teacher and author of more than 40 books.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I: Building a Firm Foundation: Grammar Basics 5

Chapter 1: Finding the Right Verb at the Right Time 7

Chapter 2: Got a Match? Pairing Subjects and Verbs Correctly 23

Chapter 3: Who Is She, and What Is It? Pronoun Basics 39

Chapter 4: Having It All: Writing Complete Sentences 53

Part II: Mastering Mechanics 71

Chapter 5: Pausing to Consider the Comma 73

Chapter 6: A Hook That Can Catch You: Apostrophes 87

Chapter 7: "Let Me Speak!" Quotation Marks 97

Chapter 8: Hitting the Big Time: Capital Letters 107

Part III: Applying Proper Grammar in Tricky Situations 117

Chapter 9: Choosing the Best Pronoun: Case, Number, and Clarity 119

Chapter 10: Tensing Up: Choosing the Right Verb for Tricky Sentences 143

Chapter 11: Are You and Your Verbs in the Right Mood? 157

Chapter 12: Writing for Electronic Media 165

Part IV: Upping the Interest: Describing and Comparing 175

Chapter 13: Writing Good or Well: Adjectives and Adverbs 177

Chapter 14: Going on Location: Placing Descriptions Correctly 187

Chapter 15: For Better or Worse: Forming Comparisons 201

Part V: Improving Your Writing Style 219

Chapter 16: Staying on Track: Parallel Writing 221

Chapter 17: The Writing Diet: Adding Spice and Cutting Fat from Your Sentences 237

Chapter 18: Steering Clear of Tricky Word Traps 247

Part VI: The Part of Tens 259

Chapter 19: Ten Overcorrections 261

Chapter 20: Ten Errors to Avoid at All Costs 265

Appendix: Grabbing Grammar Goofs 269

Index 299