Product Description
Those pesky dangling modifiers, split infinitives, and comma splices, they infect our spoken and written language with such frequency that even native English speakers find it difficult to determine what's right and what's wrong! The McGraw-Hill Handbook of English Grammar and Usage shows you how to fix these everyday English language mistakes.

With commonsense, easy-to-remember usage tips throughout, this handbook features incorrect and correct grammatical examples, a short review of basic grammar, a glossary, and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

LATE
My book came in a month after I needed it. I have never had any item ordered off of here be so late. I had to go out and buy the book because it took so long to get here.

shirley's review
This book was in excellent condition.I also like have the opportunity to use prime.

a very clear, useful, and--almost--painless guide to English grammar for everybody
This book contains a great deal of the material that was in Lester's magnum opus, Grammar and Usage in the Classroom (2nd Edition).How I adored that book!, and I have lingering bitterness that it was never reissued in another printing.The previous book casts a long shadow on this one, since it draws so heavily on it with the same format, section material, and even the same example sentences.

A good book review discusses a book's purpose and whether it achieves it, the intended audience, and so forth.The best thing to do is to let this book speak for itself.This is from the Introduction:

"Grammar books are commonplace.What makes this one different?Following are seven features that set this book apart:
*separating grammar and usage: Part I focuses on the grammatical terminology used to describe language.Part II goes a step further by covering the rules and conventions--the "prescriptions" for proper language, or what you should and should not do in formal communication.Rather than conflate these two issues (description versus prescription), this book separates them so readers can pay attention to the parts that matter most to them.
*A nontechnical approach: You do not have to be a grammarian or linguist to use this book.Part I covers the technical aspects of grammar, but we assume our readers do not necessarily have a background in this area.More importantly, Part II does not rely on Part I or on previous knowledge of formal grammar.
*Accessible, bottom-line information:Part II in particular offers bottom-line definitions, hints, and rules that summarize the least you need to know about grammar and usage.
*More than just the bottom line:Most reference books on grammar stop with the bottom-line rules and with maybe an example or two.The problem is that almost every grammar rule is not self-explanatory.If it were, you would not need a book on grammar at this point in your life.Unlike most reference books on grammar, ours gives a thorough explanation so that you can better understand the rules, exceptions, and methods for correcting an error.Our goal is for you to know how to avoid problems so you will not need this or any other grammar book later.Thus, we provide enough informationso you can truly understand and learn.
*A focus on the most important aspects of grammar and usage:To avoid overwhelming our readers, this book focuses on what matters the most.Neither Part I nor Part II covers everyaspect of formal English.Instead, Part I deals with the grammatical terminology and information that are most useful and common.Part II deals with the most serious or most frequent errors in formal English.
*Clearly marked examples of correct and incorrect sentences:People learn more from examples, so we include plenty.But research indicates that many people who are given incorrect examples only rememberhow to create these errors.Often readers do not know that the examples are actually incorrect, or they only remember seeing mistakes, meaning all they learn is how to commit an error.In this book we clearly mark errors (with an X); other examples are correct.We attempt to include at least as many correct examples are errors.
*A focus on traditional grammar with insights from modern approaches:In school the most common approach to grammar is a traditional scheme based on certain parts of speech, functions, and definitions that, as a whole, are standard throughout the English-speaking world.Our book uses this system as a basis.However, along the way we draw on insights from other theories of grammar and language.For example, Part II is largely based on the notion that people use intuitive tips that tell them if they are putting a sentence together properly.This notion builds on modern grammatical theories that assume people learn a language by subconsciously drawing on particular tests and procedures.In other words, our book describes English in ways that might sound familiar to those who studied grammar in school, but we also draw on more recent perspectives of how people naturally learn and improve their language skills."

While the book uses traditional grammar as a launching point, the usage tests throughout the text are clearly from Chomsky's Transformational Grammar, and they're wonderfully useful.Here's one small example from the book:
The Pair Test: if you can pair up a modifying word with a noun, then that word is an adjective.

example phrase: that absolutely dreadful old man
that man
X absolutely man
dreadful man
old man

By drawing on one's innate sense of what sounds good together and which combinations sound weird, the native speaker of English will know from this test that "absolutely" is not an adjective and it can't be paired with a noun, all without needing the grammatical terminology to describe it.This book (and its predecessor) does a terrific job in helping the reader to determine where the errors are so they can be fixed quickly without getting bogged down in technical jargon.The usage tests rely on native English speakers' subconscious absorption of grammar rules, and because of this, this book, while it may be useful in many regards, isn't intended for ESL students or TOEFL study.Instead, ESL students and tutors should take a look at Lester's McGraw-Hill's Essential ESL Grammar: A Handbook for Intermediate and Advanced ESL Students (McGraw-Hill ESL References) .

The glossary in Part II is VERY useful for defining concepts quickly, and the index is pretty thorough and reliable.You gotta love a good index; it's indispensable.

I try to be aware of what the author intends the book to do versus what I want it to do and not to confuse the two.The authors want Handbook of English Grammar and Usage to be a reference guide that teaches the reader so well that he or she will no longer need the book.That's a laudable goal, but I think in this case the best way to do that is to include exercises for the reader to work his or her way through to test understanding of the concepts (as Grammar and Usage in the Classroom does).Lester wroteEnglish Grammar Drills , and I wonder if it wasn't meant as a companion volume to this one.Yes, this book does omit certain topics such as the subjunctive, but the aim is to cover the most important aspects of grammar.Most high school and college students or business people aren't struggling with that.Be that as it may, I suggest one look elsewhere to learn about using the subjunctive.; - )

McGraw-Hill Handbook of English Grammar and Usage is a very useful, accessible, affordable, insightful (and at times funny) book for the beginner or someone who needs to brush up on grammar skills.It's one of the very best you'll find at this level.

GREAT for GMAT Prep!
I am a math major who recently took the GMAT.After reading this book from cover to cover, I scored better on the verbal section than the math section of the exam.I used the library copy to prepare for the exam and now I am purchasing my own copy.It is a must have for anyone needing a grammar refresher.

Exactly what I was looking for
As someone who managed to avoid learning anything in 12 years of English classes ("I already speak it, why do I need to waste my time in these classes"), I'd been bitten in the butt by my inability to clearly and concisely express myself.This was particularly embarrassing and troublesome at work when sending emails to superiors, or presenting projects to a group.

I needed to learn how to properly write a sentence, and to do this, I needed to learn grammar.My search for the perfect grammar book was tough.Most were meant for readers who already had a moderate understanding of grammar.The rest seemed to be meant for ESL students.NONE seemed to offer what I needed: A foundational review of the basic concepts of grammar, and instructions on how to use these concepts to create clear and concise writings.

Finally I found this book, and it was exactly what I needed.I now have a more in-depth understanding of grammar than most of my coworkers, and though my writing may not be quite as good as theirs, it has improved and continues to do so.

As a final note, I should mention that this booked helped me only because I was very motivated to improve my writing.I have read each chapter multiple times, and practiced what I read by parsing sentences in the newspaper.And though my writing is much improved, I still spend quite a bit of time reviewing everything I write, making sure it follows the rules this book has taught me; however, with continued practice I expect that proper writing will eventually come with ease. ... Read more

Product Description
Eve's Diary was first published in the 1905 Christmas issue of the magazine Harper's Bazaar, and in full book format in June of 1906 by Harper and Brothers publishing house, by author Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens). Written in the style of a diary kept by the first woman in the Judeao-Christian creation story, being of Eve's perspective, it is claimed to be "translated from the original MS. There are many illustrations included in the original and in this edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A companion to Twain's "Adam's Diary"
"Eve's Diary" and "Extracts from Adam's Diary" are often sold together but they were not originally published together. "Adam's Diary" is a must read before you read this one, in my opinion because "Eve's Diary" is really just supplemental to "Adam's".

"Adam's Diary" is also the superior work - it is much funnier, contains many more entries and is truly a stand-alone work.

However, they really are intended to be read as a set so go ahead and get them both. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

excellent practical read and practice
This book is wonderful for polishing grammar skills. Lester writes in his forward to the student "This book is designed to give you what you need to know about grammar in order to be an effective, professional classroom teacher - a thorough knowledge of how grammar works and methods for teaching and using it effectively in the classroom".
I had the privelege of taking an advanced grammar class from Dr. Lester, and while using this book in the course, learned more about grammar than in any previous years in school. Not only did I learn more than I thought I could, I became comfortable with grammar.
Included with the instruction are simple tests for finding parts of speech - ways to determine if a word is a noun, adjective, etc. I found these tests extremely helpful when teaching a grammar unit to sixth graders.
Lester gives practice activities at the end of each chapter which review and test the reader on what he or she has learned, with answers in the back of the book.
I recommend this book highly to anyone brushing up on grammar, or trying to master it for the first time. ... Read more

Product Description

All the English verbs you need toknow in one place!

This comprehensiveguide is your one-stop resource for learning English verbs. It includes555 of the highest frequency verbs--unlike Barron’s501, which excludes common verbs such as “answer”and “wash”--with conjugations and sample sentences.The Big Book of English Verbs also has a list of all complementtypes that are used by each verb, as well as all thecommon phrasal verb constructions that the verb canbe used with in a sentence. The CD-ROM containsmore than 200 interactive practice exercises, plus diagnosticand review tests to assess competency.

Customer Reviews (1)

Excelente guía
Recomiendo este libro a todo aquel que necesite una buena guía de conjugación de verbos.

Ampio en su contenido y con un CD muy útil para repasar los conteidos. ... Read more

Product Description
Grammar and Usage in the Classroom addresses prospective English teachers who need both to learn basic grammar themselves and to prepare themselves to successfully teach grammar. Based on the author's extensive work with school districts, in-service teachers, and hundreds of his own students, the second edition has been thoroughly revised and reorganized into three parts: Grammar; Usage; and A Glossary of Grammatical Terms.The grammar opens with a chapter on the current state of teaching grammar and usage; presents traditional school grammar; and, in the last grammar chapter, introduces a modern descriptive grammar to analyze verb complements. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

good book
I learned a lot about grammar, and the notes from the previous owner helped me as well.

still very useful despite the mistakes
The purpose of this book is to give prospective teachers a strong grasp of English grammar so that they in turn can teach it to their students. The intended audience is primarily native English-speaking teachers and native English-speaking students, although it is also addressed to the ESL students who appear in main stream classes.This book has some unusual and useful tools in it, including old-style Reed-Kellogg sentence diagramming exercises and sentence combining.I don't know of anyone who likes diagramming sentences; it's painful and tedious.However, diagramming makes teachers and students alike think of language as an abstraction, and it is possibly one of the best tools to compel them to focus on and analyze its parts.The text is divided into two sections--Grammar and Usage, and what I like most about the book is the many usage tests.These are tests given that draw upon a native speaker's innate sense of grammar rules to determine which part of speech a word, phrase, or clause may be acting as.They're learned quickly and easily, so they're very practical. These usage tests have revolutionized how I approach analyzing sentence structure, and they've been invaluable aids in classroom teaching and analyzing pieces of student writing, no matter how elaborate or chaotic they may be.The tools in the book are very adaptable, so one can work with students at whatever level he or she finds them--already proficient or blissfully unaware.I also like that there are many, many hands-on exercises for the reader to practice the concepts, and there are chapter reviews to ensure the concepts are grasped. Also, there is a very handy Glossary of Grammar Terms that explains the concepts at a glance. The book gives the reader practical tools he or she will need to understand and teach grammar without getting bogged down in Linguistics jargon. I found the diagrams used to teach the concept of verb tense to be very helpful. Additionally, Lester wrote this book with a lot of humor, and it comes through in the text and practice exercises, which helps with such a dry subject.The book has many interesting facts.For example, I found it fascinating that English, originally a Germanic language, was taught with Latinate terminology that inaccurately described the tenses, and that is why what we today call the Perfect Tense isn't really perfect and why the Present Tense isn't used to discuss what is happening in the present.The many merits of the book being duly noted, what I don't like about the book is how errors pervade the entire text, whether they are mere typographical errors or flat out wrong answers to the exercises. It doesn't take much of an imagination to see how confusing these mistakes can be to someone struggling to learn English grammar.I wish the publishers would release another printing that is properly proofread because I hate to see correctable mistakes mar an otherwise good book.The book accomplishes what its author intended: teaching basic grammar to instructors and students.It is practical and doesn't talk over one's head.I think it's a great book for beginners to start or for others who need a refresher.There are plenty of other English grammar books out there that are more influenced by linguistic theory or ESL if that's what you want.Some that I like and recommend are: Understanding English Grammar [With Workbook] by Kolln(written for students), A Student's Grammar of the English Language (Grammar Practice) by Greenbaum and Quirk (a simplified version of their classicA Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, but still pretty tough),Cambridge Grammar of English Paperback with CD ROM: A Comprehensive Guide by Carter and McCarthy (English as it is spoken--very helpful for explaining grammar concepts to ESL students).

Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes....
This is a great book for teachers.It gives great tools and tests for teachers to use and give students to help them unlock grammar.However, it has many errors - many in the self-check answers section.Apparently, the wrong draft was sent to print (rumor I heard from a friend/co-worker of Lester's).I wish the publishers would print a revised edition.Without the mistakes I would give it five stars.

An Average Grammar Book
With the exception of some "tests" the author has derived to check for different parts of speech, this book is quite average in its content, and the way it is organized makes it not very useful as a reference.

Grammar Book Review
This book provides a good general overview of grammar with lots of practice exercises with an answer key in the back. One major flaw with this book is that there are a number of mistakes. Some of the answers in the key are wrong which makes it very difficult to check your work. ... Read more

Product Description
The phenomenon of suicide by cop has increased in frequency in recent years, creating great concern in the law enforcement community. In suicide by cop, an individual behaves so as to provoke police officers into attempting to disarm him, sometimes killing him in the process. For example, an individual may hold a gun and advance toward police officers, refusing to stop or drop the weapon. It has proven difficult but important to distinguish these acts from those in which there is no justification for police officers’ killing an individual, and from those in which a person is killed during a confrontation with police, but had no suicidal motivation. Criminal penalties for the police officers involved and civil lawsuits by the relatives of the deceased person depend critically on these distinctions.

This book examines what we know about the phenomenon of suicide by cop and places this behavior in a broader context. For example, some murder victims (perhaps as many as a quarter) provoke the murderer, to some extent, into killing them—so-called victim-precipitated homicide. In some cases, it has been suspected that murderers kill and act thereafter in such a way as to provoke the state into executing them. The authors then examine some of the issues specific to suicide by cop, such as whether there is a racial bias in these acts and what the legal implications are. Finally, they discuss the process of hostage negotiation (since those involved in suicide by cop often take hostages during the confrontation with police), the need to provide counseling for police officers involved in suicide-by-cop incidents, and how we might reduce the incidence of this behavior. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Understanding Why It Happened
An excellent read for any law enforcement officer that has been involved in a shooting incident.Also, this book prepares law enforcement members to understand the possible motives of suicidal persons who want the law enforcement officer to carry out a suicidal plan. ... Read more

Product Description
A tenth grade textbook analyzing the study of English language as a communication system composed of two codes: writing and speech. ... Read more

Product Description
Discusses basic English grammar and how it can be used to make more effective sentences. ... Read more

Product Description
The original and unabridged Kindle formatted, with linked table of content and easy to navigate classic novel by Mark Twain, with illustrations by Lester Ralph. ... Read more

Product Description
Explains with aid of exercises and examples how to construct better sentences. ... Read more

Product Description

When it comes to learning English grammar, the best way is to JUST DO IT!

For learning grammar, you'll find the most successin retaining your skills through drills, drills, andmore drills. English Grammar Drills reinforcesyour knowledge and enhances your ability to read,write, and speak in English. Each chapter deals with onlyone subject, so you are not overwhelmed withinformation and drills and can proceed at a comfortablepace. With close to 200 exercises you will get plenty of opportunities to practice what you have learned.

Customer Reviews (1)

English Grammar Drills
My ESL students use this book as it gives them great practice in using English Grammar.
It is well set out and easy for them to follow.I time them doing the exercises
which makes it fun for them to do.I use the book in conjunction with the others
in the series.

Cathy B ... Read more

Product Description

Get control over those difficult areas of English grammar

Practice Makes Perfect: Advanced English Grammar for ESL Learners is focused on those grammar topics that might pose special problems for you, especially if English is not your first language. Because it targets advanced topics, you will quickly zero in on what holds you back from fluency. And like with all of the bestselling Practice Makes Perfect books, you can practice through exercises and reinforce your knowledge.

The book includes:

• 775 exercises
• Expertise from Mark Lester, an ESL expert in grammar who founded the highly respected ESL department at the University of Hawaii. He authored the most popular college classroom grammar in the country

Topics include: Noun plurals, Possessive nouns and personal pronouns, Articles and quantifiers, Adjectives, Verb forms and tenses, Talking about present time, Talking about past time, Talking about future time, Causative verbs, The passive, The structure of adjective clauses, Restrictive and nonrestrictive adjective clauses, Gerunds, Infinitives, Noun clauses