The Only Grammar Book You’ll Ever Need
by Susan Thurman and Larry Shea
From the publisher: The Only Grammar Book You’ll Ever Need is the ideal resource for everyone who wants to produce writing that is clear, concise, and grammatically excellent. Whether you’re creating perfect professional documents, spectacular school papers, or effective personal letters, you’ll find this handbook indispensable. From word choice to punctuation to organization, English teacher Susan Thurman guides you through getting your thoughts on paper with polish.
Using dozens of examples, The Only Grammar Book You’ll Ever Need provides guidelines for:
– Understanding the parts of speech and elements of a sentence
– Avoiding the most common grammar and punctuation mistakes
– Using correct punctuating in every sentence
– Writing clearly and directly
– Approaching writing projects, whether big or small
Easy to follow and authoritative, The Only Grammar Book You’ll Ever Need provides all the necessary tools to make you successful with every type of written expression.
Length: 192 pages
Publisher: Adams Media
Average customer review: (657 reviews)
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Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
by Mignon Fogarty
From the publisher: Online sensation Grammar Girl makes grammar fun and easy in this New York Times bestseller.
Are you stumped by split infinitives? Terrified of using “who” when a “whom” is called for? Do you avoid the words “affect” and “effect” altogether?
Grammar Girl is here to help!
Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a. Grammar Girl, is determined to wipe out bad grammar—but she’s also determined to make the process as painless as possible. A couple of years ago, she created a weekly podcast to tackle some of the most common mistakes people make while communicating. The podcasts have now been downloaded more than twenty million times, and Mignon has dispensed grammar tips on Oprah and appeared on the pages of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.
Written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility that the podcasts are known for, Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing covers the grammar rules and word-choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers. From “between vs. among” and “although vs. while” to comma splices and misplaced modifiers, Mignon offers memory tricks and clear explanations that will help readers recall and apply those troublesome grammar rules. Chock-full of tips on style, business writing, and effective e-mailing, Grammar Girl’s print debut deserves a spot on every communicator’s desk.
Length: 240 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Average customer review: (313 reviews)
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The Elements of Style
by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White
From the publisher: You know the authors’ names. You recognize the title. You’ve probably used this book yourself. This is The Elements of Style, the classic style manual, now in a fourth edition.
A new Foreword by Roger Angell reminds readers that the advice of Strunk & White is as valuable today as when it was first offered.
This book’s unique tone, wit and charm have conveyed the principles of English style to millions of readers. Use the fourth edition of “the little book” to make a big impact with writing.
Length: 128 pages
Publisher: Pearson
Average customer review: (3 000 reviews)
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Eats, Shoots & Leaves
by Lynne Truss
From the publisher: The spirited and scholarly #1 New York Times bestseller combines boisterous history with grammar how-to’s to show how important punctuation is in our world—period.
In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, former editor Lynne Truss, gravely concerned about our current grammatical state, boldly defends proper punctuation. She proclaims, in her delightfully urbane, witty, and very English way, that it is time to look at our commas and semicolons and see them as the wonderful and necessary things they are. Using examples from literature, history, neighborhood signage, and her own imagination, Truss shows how meaning is shaped by commas and apostrophes, and the hilarious consequences of punctuation gone awry.
Featuring a foreword by Frank McCourt, and interspersed with a lively history of punctuation from the invention of the question mark in the time of Charlemagne to George Orwell shunning the semicolon, Eats, Shoots & Leaves makes a powerful case for the preservation of proper punctuation.
Length: 240 pages
Publisher: Avery
Average customer review: (1 009 reviews)
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Complete English Grammar Rules
by Farlex International
From the publisher: Finally, all the rules of English grammar in one comprehensive book, explained in simple terms.
The grammar book for the 21st century has arrived, from the language experts at Farlex International and TheFreeDictionary.com, the trusted reference destination with 1 billion+ annual visits.
Farlex brings you the most comprehensive grammar guide yet: all the rules of English grammar, explained in simple, easy-to-understand terms. Over 500 pages of proper grammar instruction–2X more than the leading grammar book!
Whether you’re an expert or a beginner, there’s always something new to learn when it comes to the always-evolving English language. Don’t rely on multiple incomplete textbooks that contradict each other—fill in all the gaps in your grammar knowledge with one go-to guide. Only Complete English Grammar Rules gives you key exceptions, common grammar mistakes, thousands of real-world examples, and hundreds of grammar quizzes designed to help you retain what you’ve learned.
With Complete English Grammar Rules, you’ll be able to:
– Quickly master basic English grammar and tackle more advanced topics.
– Properly use every type of noun, verb, and even the most obscure grammar elements.
– Master verb tenses, including irregular verbs and exceptions.
– Avoid embarrassing grammar errors.
– Immediately put your skills into action! Become a more effective writer and communicator in school, at work, and in everyday conversation.
Length: 518 pages
Publisher: Farlex International
Average customer review: (70 reviews)
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The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
by Jane Straus, Lester Kaufman, and Tom Stern
From the publisher: A revised and updated new edition of the bestselling workbook and grammar guide.
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation is a concise, entertaining workbook and guide to English grammar, punctuation, and usage. This user-friendly resource includes simple explanations of grammar, punctuation, and usage; scores of helpful examples; dozens of reproducible worksheets; and pre- and post-tests to help teach grammar to students of all ages. Appropriate for virtually any age range, this authoritative guide makes learning English grammar and usage simple and fun. This updated Eleventh Edition reflects the latest updates to English usage and grammar and features a fully revised two-color design and lay-flat binding for easy photocopying.
– Clear and concise, easy-to-follow, offering “just the facts.”
– Fully updated to reflect the latest rules in grammar and usage along with new quizzes.
– Ideal for students from seventh grade through adulthood in the US and abroad.
For anyone who wants to understand the major rules and subtle guidelines of English grammar and usage, The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation offers comprehensive, straightforward instruction.
Length: 224 pages
Publisher: Wiley
Average customer review: (728 reviews)
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Grammar for Fiction Writers
by Marcy Kennedy and Chris Saylor
From the publisher: Not your same old boring grammar guide! This book is fun, fast, and focused on writing amazing fiction.
The world of grammar is huge, but fiction writers don’t need to know all the nuances to write well. In fact, some of the rules you were taught in English class will actually hurt your fiction writing, not help it.
Grammar for Fiction Writers won’t teach you things you don’t need to know. It’s all about the grammar that’s relevant to you as you write your novels and short stories.
Here’s what you’ll find inside:
– Punctuation Basics including the special uses of dashes and ellipses in fiction, common comma problems, how to format your dialogue, and untangling possessives and contractions.
– Knowing What Your Words Mean and What They Don’t including commonly confused words, imaginary words and phrases, how to catch and strengthen weak words, and using connotation and denotation to add powerful subtext to your writing.
– Grammar Rules Every Writer Needs to Know and Follow such as maintaining an active voice and making the best use of all the tenses for fast-paced writing that feels immediate and draws the reader in.
– Special Challenges for Fiction Writers like reversing cause and effect, characters who are unintentionally doing the impossible, and orphaned dialogue and pronouns.
– Grammar “Rules” You Can Safely Ignore When Writing Fiction
Each book in the Busy Writer’s Guides series is intended to give you enough theory so that you can understand why things work and why they don’t, but also enough examples to see how that theory looks in practice. In addition, they provide tips and exercises to help you take it to the pages of your own story with an editor’s-eye view. Most importantly, they cut the fluff so you have more time to write and to live your life.
Length: 162 pages
Publisher: Tongue Untied Communications
Average customer review: (45 reviews)
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English Grammar in Use
by Raymond Murphy
From the publisher: English Grammar in Use with Answers, authored by Raymond Murphy, is the first choice for intermediate (B1-B2) learners and covers all the grammar required at this level.
It is a self-study book with simple explanations and lots of practice exercises, and has helped millions of people around the world to communicate in English. It is also trusted by teachers and can be used as a supplementary text in classrooms.
Length: 390 pages
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Average customer review: (302 reviews)
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The Best Punctuation Book, Period
by June Casagrande
From the publisher: This all-in-one reference is a quick and easy way for book, magazine, online, academic, and business writers to look up sticky punctuation questions for all styles including AP (Associated Press), MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), and Chicago Manual of Style.
Punctuate with Confidence—No Matter the Style
Confused about punctuation? There’s a reason. Everywhere you turn, publications seem to follow different rules on everything from possessive apostrophes to hyphens to serial commas. Then there are all the gray areas of punctuation—situations the rule books gloss over or never mention at all. At last, help has arrived.
This complete reference guide from grammar columnist June Casagrande covers the basic rules of punctuation plus the finer points not addressed anywhere else, offering clear answers to perplexing questions about semicolons, quotation marks, periods, apostrophes, and more. Better yet, this is the only guide that uses handy icons to show how punctuation rules differ for book, news, academic, and science styles—so you can boldly switch between essays, online newsletters, reports, fiction, and magazine and news articles.
This handbook also features rulings from an expert “Punctuation Panel” so you can see how working pros approach sticky situations. And the second half of the book features an alphabetical master list of commonly punctuated terms worth its weight in gold, combining rulings from the major style guides and showing exactly where they differ. With The Best Punctuation Book, Period, you’ll be able to handle any punctuation predicament in a flash—and with aplomb.
Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Average customer review: (118 reviews)
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Perfect English Grammar
by Grant Barrett
From the publisher: Expert linguist Grant Barrett gives you all the tools you need to improve your everyday communication—from perfecting your punctuation to polishing your speaking skills—with his accessible, go-to grammar guide.
Language learners of all levels can turn to this easy-to-navigate grammar guide again and again for quick and authoritative information. From conjugating verbs to crafting sentences to developing your own style, Grant Barrett provides you with the tools and motivation to improve the way you communicate.
Perfect English Grammar helps you clearly say what you want to say—and the best way to say it.
– Never Be Wrong: Catchy examples help you remember core grammar rules
– Sharpen Your Style: Composition guidelines let you express yourself fully
– Look It Up: Seamless navigation makes it easy to find answers quickly
– Geek Out: Explore the tricky questions with Grant Barrett’s help
Whether you’re a busy professional or on the job hunt, Perfect English Grammar makes it easier than ever to improve your grasp of grammar.
Length: 238 pages
Publisher: Zephyros Press
Average customer review: (155 reviews)
Buy it: Amazon
English Grammar for Dummies
by Geraldine Woods
From the publisher: Get the last word on English grammar.
Grasping the intricacies of the English language doesn’t need to be tricky, and this down-to-earth guide breaks everything down in ways that make sense. Revealing rules, tips, and tricks to eliminate confusion and gain clarity, English Grammar for Dummies gives you everything you need to communicate with confidence!
Good grammar lays the foundation for speaking and writing clearly. This easy-to-follow book will help you become a more articulate, effective communicator. Covering everything from the building blocks of a sentence to those pesky rules of punctuation, it offers the practical guidance you need to communicate in a way that would make any English teacher proud.
– Improve your speaking skills
– Clearly compose written communications
– Get the latest techniques for continuous improvement
– Write a winning college entrance exam or compelling business presentation
Stop worrying about the grammar police and become more confident with your words!
Length: 416 pages
Publisher: For Dummies
Average customer review: (210 reviews)
Buy it: Amazon
Easy English!
by
From the publisher: Easy English! is your key to writing with style and confidence.
Whether you need a slight refresher on getting your commas and colons right, or a step-by-step guide to help you tackle tricky hyphens in compound adjectives, Easy English! has got you covered!
Written as a concise guide and reference book, Easy English! breaks down all the important rules you need to know. With abundant examples along the way, it explains each aspect of punctuation in simple English, making it perfect for easy study. And at the end, a quiz with over 200 questions will help make sure you know how to craft a perfect sentence every time.
Price: $3.44
Publisher: Rockwaller Books
Save 25% over buying the two books in this series individually!
Buy it: Amazon
Do these grammar books give the rules for both American and British English? I’m looking for something that covers as much as possible in one book.
Hi V.K.,
All of these grammar guides will mention the differences between regional rules, though to varying degrees. The most comprehensive all-in-one grammar book on this list would probably be Complete English Grammar Rules by Farlex International. It’s a very comprehensive resource for the finer points of English grammar.
Thanks. Is it very technical or can anyone use it?
As a reference book, it strikes a good middle ground. For complete beginners, though, The Only Grammar Book You’ll Ever Need is also very comprehensive but perhaps a bit more accessible for beginners.
I’ve spent some time going through it now, and it’s really good for referencing all the different rules in English. It’s got a lot of detail without being complicated – thanks for the help!
Eats, Shoots and Leaves is so good. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in English.
It’s super interesting. I struggled to get into studying grammar, but Eats, Shoots and Leaves made it feel a lot more engaging for me.
I got it as a gift recently and wasn’t sure what to expect. It really is a wonderful book for language lovers. Even if you’re a grammar whizz, you’ll still learn a lot about English.
I’ve been using “The Best Punctuation Book, Period” for a few years now as a reference while I’m editing, and it’s been incredibly helpful. It’s pretty thorough without being too technical for anyone new to English grammar.
Thanks for the heads up. I’m trying to find a good reference book for English grammar that doesn’t read like a linguistic textbook.
No problem. The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation might also be worth checking out, although I haven’t used it quite as much.
English grammar has always been hard for me. What would you recommend for a beginner (like high school level)? Something easy and clear please.
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