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The Truth About English Grammar

By Geoffrey K. Pullum
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Brief Description
Do you worry that your understanding of English grammar isn’t what it should be? It may not be your fault. For hundreds of years, vague and confused ideas about how to state the rules have been passed down from one generation to the next. The available... Read More
Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Do you worry that your understanding of English grammar isn’t what it should be? It may not be your fault. For hundreds of years, vague and confused ideas about how to state the rules have been passed down from one generation to the next. The available books for the general reader – thousands of them, shamelessly plagiarising each other – repeat the same misguided definitions and generalisations that appeared in the schoolbooks used by your great-great-grandparents.

Geoffrey K. Pullum thinks you deserve better. In this book, he breaks away from the tradition. Presupposing no prior knowledge or technical terms, he provides an informal introduction to the essential concepts underlying grammar and usage. With this foundation, you will be equipped to understand the classification of words, the structure of phrases and clauses, and why some supposed grammar rules are really just myths. Also covered are some of the key points about spelling, apostrophes, hyphens, capitalisation, and punctuation.

Illuminating, witty, and incisive, The Truth About English Grammar is a vital book for all who love writing, reading, and thinking about English.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781509560547

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 28 June 2024

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Polity Press

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 28.0mm

Width: 145.0mm

Height: 218.0mm

Weight: 408g

Pages: 176

Collections

Education & Reference Geoffrey K. Pullum Non-Fiction

About the Author

Geoff Pullum is the author of Linguistics: Why It Matters. He has taught linguistics and English grammar for decades on both sides of the Atlantic, and is a coauthor (with Rodney Huddleston) of The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language.  In addition to many academic articles and books, he has published satirical and humorous writing on language and linguistics.

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