English Grammar : 100 Tragically Common Mistakes (and How to Correct Them)

The practical English grammar guide for perfect writing. Gone are the days when you worry about embarrassing yourself with pesky misplaced modifiers or dreaded double negatives. Next time you have a nagging grammar question, pick up this practical guide and write with clarity and confidence. English Grammar spares you the lessons and cuts right to the answers. Designed for fast reference, this book makes it easy to avoid the most cringe-worthy mistakes in the English language—and maybe even make your grade school grammar teacher proud. Inside English Grammar: * English Grammar goofs—Avoid falling into the most common traps with guidelines for incomplete sentences, possessive pronouns with gerunds, dangling modifiers and more. * Word mix-ups—Learn the difference between common word misuses like sex vs. gender, its and it’s, whose and who’s, the list goes on... * Write with style—Make a good (and grammatically correct) impression with every sentence you pen using these easy writing hacks and suggestions. Everyone makes mistakes—but with this English grammar guide you’ll make a lot fewer of them. Period. Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Introduction Chapter One: Grammar Goofs 1. Incomplete Sentences 2. Gone and Went 3. Phrasal Verbs 4. Who/Whom 5. Compound Relative Pronouns 6. Nominative/Objective/Possessive Pronouns 7. To/Too/Two 8. Affect/Effect 9. Ending a Sentence with a Preposition 10. Starting a Sentence with a Conjunction 11. Misplaced Modifiers 12. Dangling Modifiers 13. Possessive Pronouns with Gerunds 14. Dual Possession 15. Double Genitive 16. Subjunctive Mood I: If I Were . . . 17. Subjunctive Mood II: I Demand That . . . 18. May and Might 19. Get, Got, and Gotten 20. Indefinite Pronouns: Each 21. Helping Verbs: To Have 22. Helping Verbs: To Be 23. Helping Verbs: To Do 24. Reflexive Pronouns: Myself 25. Double Negatives Chapter Two: Punctuation Saves Lives 26. Comma Usage 27. Comma Splice 28. Apostrophes for Pluralization 29. Hyphens 30. Capitalization 31. Quotation Marks 32. Em Dash and En Dash 33. Ellipses 34. Missing Accent Marks 35. Semicolons 36. Possessives with Names Ending in S 37. Ending a Declarative Sentence with a Question Mark 38. Colons 39. The Vocative Comma 40. Pride Capitals 41. Scare Quotes 42. Punctuation for Currency 43. Apostrophes for Holidays 44. Run-On Sentences 45. Double Spaces After a Period Chapter Three: Word to the Wise 46. Sex vs. Gender 47. Weather vs. Climate 48. Like vs. Such As 49. Irregardless 50. Set vs. Sit 51. Lay vs. Lie 52. Unique 53. Will vs. Shall 54. Than vs. Then 55. Less vs. Fewer 56. Loose vs. Lose 57. Literally 58. Number and Amount 59. Could of/Should of/Would of 60. A Lot vs. Alot 61. Weather vs. Whether vs. Wether 62. Breath vs. Breathe 63. Comprise 64. Everyday vs. Every Day 65. There/They’re/Their 66. Etc. vs. Ext. 67. Historic/Historical 68. Between vs. Among 69. That/Which/Who 70. Its and It’s 71. Whose and Who’s 72. Your and You’re 73. i.e. and e.g. 74. A While and Awhile Chapter Four: High Style 75. Order of Adjectives 76. Further vs. Farther 77. Accept vs. Except 78. Redundancies 79. Clichés 80. Jargon 81. Singular “They” 82. Differences Between American English and British English 83. Contranyms 84. Gendered Professions 85. Religions and Their Adherents 86. Writing Numbers 87. “Verbing” and “Nouning” 88. Comparatives 89. Superlatives 90. Feel Good vs. Feel Well 91. Parallel Structure 92. Better Than He/Him 93. Active Voice vs. Passive Voice 94. Number Agreement 95. Orient, Orientate, and Oriental 96. Among/Amongst and While/Whilst 97. Discourse Markers 98. Demonstratives 99. Split Infinitives 100. Indeterminate Personal Pronoun Usage Parts of Speech Cheat Sheet Punctuation Cheat Sheet 50 Substitutions for Long-Winded Phrases Glossary Resources About the Author