No one knows grammar like Michael Strumpf. For over a quarter of a century, as creator and proprietor of The National Grammar Hot Line, he has helped thousands of callers from every corner of the globe tackle even the thorniest issues of English grammar. Now, in The Grammar Bible, Professor Strumpf combines his years of experience answering real questions from real people with characteristic wit and wisdom. More than just a simple reference tool, The Grammar Bible is a scholarly yet practical guide that is guaranteed to enlighten, educate, and entertain. Book jacket.

Michael Strumpf is a professor of English at Moorpark College. Auriel Douglas is a well-known West Coast editor and writer.

Acknowledgments

vii

Preface

xiv

Part I The Parts of Speech

1

(280)

Nouns

3

(36)

Types of Nouns

5

(3)

Properties of Nouns

8

(23)

Gender

8

(1)

Number

9

(15)

Person

24

(2)

Case

26

(5)

Some Other Things You Should Know About Nouns

31

(5)

Test Your Knowledge

36

(3)

Verbs

39

(58)

Action Verbs and Linking Verbs

40

(1)

Verb Phrases

40

(2)

Characteristics of Verbs

42

(11)

Number

42

(1)

Person

42

(1)

Voice

43

(2)

Mood

45

(3)

Tense

48

(5)

Subject-Verb Agreement

53

(3)

Conjugation

56

(20)

Objects and Complements of Verbs

76

(7)

Some Other Things You Should Know About Verbs

83

(12)

Test Your Knowledge

95

(2)

Adjectives

97

(28)

Types of adjectives

97

(3)

Degrees of Comparison

100

(10)

Positioning the Adjective

110

(2)

Some Other Things to Remember About Adjectives

112

(3)

Determiners

115

(7)

Test Your Knowledge

122

(3)

Adverbs

125

(26)

Categories of Adverbs

129

(1)

Degrees of Comparison

130

(4)

Positioning the Adverb

134

(3)

The Truth About Adverbs and Adjectives

137

(6)

Some Other Things to Remember About Adverbs

143

(6)

Test Your Knowledge

149

(2)

Verbals

151

(30)

Participles

152

(12)

Gerunds

164

(5)

Infinitives

169

(7)

Perfect Forms: A Last Point About Verbals

176

(2)

Test Your Knowledge

178

(3)

Pronouns

181

(46)

Types of Pronouns

182

(24)

Personal Pronouns

182

(7)

Possessive Pronouns

189

(2)

Reciprocal Pronouns

191

(1)

Reflexive Pronouns

191

(3)

Demonstrative Pronouns

194

(1)

Interrogative Pronouns

195

(2)

Relative Pronouns

197

(6)

Indefinite Pronouns

203

(3)

Agreement Between Pronouns and Antecedents

206

(11)

Some Other Things You Should Know About Pronouns

217

(7)

Test Your Knowledge

224

(3)

Prepositions

227

(34)

Partners of Prepositions

229

(1)

Prepositional Phrases

230

(6)

Some Things You Should Know About Prepositions

236

(22)

Test Your Knowledge

258

(3)

Conjunctions

261

(14)

Coordinate and Subordinate Conjunctions

262

(5)

Some Other Things to Remember About Conjunctions

267

(6)

Test Your Knowledge

273

(2)

Interjections

275

(6)

Punctuation of Interjections

277

(1)

Test Your Knowledge

278

(3)

Part II Dissecting the Sentence

281

(100)

Subjects & Predicates

283

(12)

Subjects and Predicates Defined

284

(4)

Diagramming: The Lost Art

288

(4)

Test Your Knowledge

292

(3)

Sentence Types & Structures

295

(20)

Sentences Types

295

(3)

Word Order

298

(6)

Declarative Word Orders

298

(3)

Interrogative Word Orders

301

(1)

Imperative Word Orders

302

(1)

Exclamatory Word Orders

303

(1)

Diagrams and Basic Sentence Structures

304

(5)

Some Other Things to Remember About Sentence Structures

309

(6)

Test Your Knowledge

312

(3)

More Diagramming

315

(18)

Prepositional Phrases

315

(3)

Contractions

318

(1)

Verbals

319

(7)

Appositives

326

(1)

Test Your Knowledge

327

(6)

Compound & Complex Sentences

333

(48)

Simple Sentences

333

(1)

Introduction to Clauses

334

(1)

Compound Sentences

335

(6)

Complex Sentences

341

(26)

Relative Clauses

342

(9)

Adverbial Clauses

351

(4)

Nominal Clauses

355

(12)

Some Other Things You Should Know About Compound & Complex Sentences

367

(11)

Test Your Knowledge

378

(3)

Part III Spelling, Vocabulary, & Punctuation

381

(172)

Spelling

383

(48)

Spelling Rules

385

(7)

Heteronyms, Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs

392

(20)

Other Confusing Word Pairs

412

(5)

Reading

417

(11)

Test Your Knowledge

428

(3)

Vocabulary

431

(66)

Definition Distinctions

433

(24)

Q&A: Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes

457

(4)

One Thousand Words You Should Know

461

(13)

Word Origins

474

(8)

Q&A: Synonyms for Said

482

(2)

Misused Vocabulary

484

(3)

Q&A: Phobias

487

(1)

Peculiar Words and Phrases

488

(2)

Some Other Things You Should Know About Vocabulary

490

(5)

Test Your Knowledge

495

(2)

Punctuation

497

(56)

History of Punctuation

498

(1)

Rules of Punctuation

499

(49)

The Period

500

(13)

The Comma

513

(13)

The Colon

526

(2)

The Semicolon

528

(1)

The Apostrophe

529

(6)

The Question Mark

535

(1)

The Exclamation Mark

536

(1)

Parentheses

537

(1)

Brackets

538

(1)

The Hyphen

538

(3)

The Dash

541

(2)

Quotation Marks

543

(5)

Some Other Things You Should Know About Punctuation

548

(3)

Test Your Knowledge

551

(2)

Glossary

553

(18)

Bibliography

571

(2)

Index

573

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