Good Grammar Books?- Page 2

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 12:47am

No, RobbO. If that were the case, the title would be punctuated accordingly, and instead of "their," "its" would have to be used. Not that a BOOK can "USE" something anyway; the authors are using.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 12:54am

Try this one. It's 14 years old but you might like it.
The Random House Guide to Good Writing

[DG]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 12:58am

BGirl - I'm certainly no expert, but I believe Robbo is correct in his appraisal.

[RobbO]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 1:04am

i agree with DG.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 1:32am

RobbO said what I said, basically.

The usage of "its" and "their" is a fine line when you are dealing with a group.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 2:53am

There are a number of books out there that can help you with your grammar. I used many of these during my years of teaching and then carried them forth to my other places of employment where they have been used for reference.

A comprehensive sort of "crash course" in improving your use of the language is "30 Days to Better English" by Norman Lewis. It explains how everything works and why--and in language everyone can understand. It may be out of print, but you should be able to pick up a used copy cheaply.

As far as texts go, the aforementioned Warriners has been used for ages. To many it the bible of English usage. Also quite good is "The Little Brown Handbook." A more contemporary approach can be found in a book titled, "Woe is I."

I can recommend all of these books wholeheartedly, but I cannot do the same for Strunk and White.

[zzannahk]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 4:09am

strunk and white were/are real people

strunk was a teacher at some important school and his elements were required reading, white (charlotte's web) was a student who, later in life, was asked to edit/revise his old teachers work

threadjack kinda - bedford diaries made a really stupid joke that the girl had picked it up because she thought it was about fashion

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 8:17am

I was referring to the Strunk and White BOOK, therefore the singular form was correct.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 8:57am

But "their" is not singular.

[RobbO]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 9:53am

actually i disagreed with you, bs, point for point.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 10:29am

"BGirl - I'm certainly no expert, but I believe Robbo is correct in his appraisal."

Well, don't get me wrong, I suppose I can see where the confusion can come from, but when you break it down, this is a very simple, basic grammar skill. There is either subject-verb disagreement or pronoun-antecedent disagreement in that sentence as written. Within one sentence, DP referred to the same "Strunk and White" both in the singular and plural. That's a pretty simple grammar mistake.


Updated On: 4/30/06 at 10:29 AM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 10:40am

I've gone through this entire thread, trying to decipher to whom each of you was referring. I edited my initial response for grammatical correctness.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 11:52am

If everyone had simply learned grammar by diagramming sentences, this entire thread would have been unnecessary, as would the residual debate.

Now I understand what my 7th grade English teacher meant when she said, "The use of proper grammar will effect world peace."

[RobbO]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 11:55am

bgirl, my post did not refer to dollypop's sentence but to how to word a sentence around strunk & white.

[Calvin]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 12:01pm

I never minded diagramming sentences.

Now, back to the question at hand: The AP Stylebook is not a bad thing to have in your library. There's a short section in it on grammar, but it's not really a grammar book. It's really more of a list of rules so newspaper writers can have a standardized style. However, there several entries that point out incorrect usage, loaded words, wordiness, etc. that have permeated our language.

[DBillyP]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 12:12pm

Agreed Calvin.

I am curious about the accuracy, or lack thereof, in Strunk and White. Is the book incorrect, or does it simply recommend a rule that is subjective, such as the use of a comma before "and" in a series?

[blueroses]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 12:51pm

The AP Style Guide can be very helpful--and it is updated every year. Eats, Shoots and Leaves (Lynne Truss) is a cool read.