Woe is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain EnglishFrom the Publisher: It's been called "possibly the most popular book on grammar ever published." Now the witty bestseller that took the nation by storm is back in a revised, expanded edition with new dos and don'ts from top to bottom. In this new Woe Is I, Patricia T. O'Conner displays the same fresh, irreverent humor that has charmed hundreds of thousands of readers. There are new chapters on spelling and pronunciation, and updates throughout. But you'll find the same down-to-earth explanations in clear, plain English-the same sensible solutions to the grammar mysteries that bug even the best of us. O'Conner manages to unscramble the most complicated problems in simple, easy to- swallow language. So you won't encounter the kind of intimidating terminology that made you want to skip your high school English class. This funny, wise, and indispensable guide shows readers how to: avoid the persistent grammatical errors that tie everyone-even presidents!- in knots watch their tongues and learn to pronounce commonly mangled words correctly use dozens of much-abused words and phrases Whatever your problem-intimidated by possessives? puzzled over pronouns? clueless about how to say "banal"?-the updated Woe Is I provides witty, jargon-free answers to all your questions about the basics as well as the subtleties of grammar, style, and usage. No wonder The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called O'Conner's classic "the best primer on English usage to come along since Strunk and White's The Elements of Style." |
Contents
Woe Is I Therapy for Pronoun Anxiety | 1 |
Plurals Before Swine Blunders with Numbers | 19 |
Yours Truly The Possessives and the Possessed | 37 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
action adjective adverb apostrophe avoid best in show better butler says called chapter clause cliché colon comes comma common confused correct couple cousin dangler dash describe dictionary double negative ellipsis English Ernest Gowers example exclamation point expression figure of speech followed forget Paris Frederic Fekkai front goes grammar group of words guests arrive Harry hyphen idea infinitive Jacques Barzun kind language look means metaphor mind mood never NOTE noun opening phrase pair parentheses past tense period preposition pronoun punctuation mark question mark quotation marks refer Robert Lowth rules saw the murder semicolon sense sentence singular or plural singular verb sneeze sometimes sound spelled split starts stuffed piranha subject and verb subjunctive mood syllable talking tell tence There's thing Tina tion TOMBSTONE two-faced usually wear what's who's William Safire word that ends writing wrong