Have You Eaten Grandma? : Or, the Life-Saving Importance of Correct Punctuation, Grammar, and Good English

For anyone who wants to make fewer (not less) grammar mistakes, a lively, effective, and witty guide to all the ins and outs of the English language, reminiscent of the New York Times bestseller Eats, Shoots & Leaves . Our language is changing, literary levels are declining, and our grasp of grammar is at a crisis point. From commas to colons, apostrophes to adverbs, there are countless ways we can make mistakes when writing or speaking. But do not despair! Great Britain’s most popular grammar guru has created the ultimate modern manual for English speakers on both sides of the Atlantic. In this brilliantly funny and accessible guide to proper punctuation and so much more, Gyles Brandreth explores the linguistic horrors of our times, tells us what we’ve been doing wrong and shows us how, in the future, we can get it right every time. Covering everything from dangling participles to transitive verbs, from age-old conundrums like “lay” vs. “lie,” to the confounding influences of social media on our everyday language, Have You Eaten Grandma? is an endlessly useful and entertaining resource for all. For anyone who wants to make fewer (not less) grammar mistakes, this "passionate, enlightening, and easily navigable manual is certainly the right book at the right time" ( Publishers Weekly )—reminiscent of the New York Times bestseller Eats, Shoots & Leaves . Our language is changing, literary levels are declining, and our grasp of grammar is at a crisis point. From commas to colons, apostrophes to adverbs, there are countless ways we can make mistakes when writing or speaking. But do not despair! Great Britain's most popular grammar guru has created the ultimate modern manual for English speakers on both sides of the Atlantic. In this "irreverent and conversational" ( Booklist ) guide to proper punctuation and so much more, Gyles Brandreth explores the linguistic horrors of our times, tells us what we've been doing wrong, and shows us how to can get it right every time. Covering everything from dangling participles to transitive verbs, from age-old conundrums like "lay" vs. "lie," to the confounding influences of social media on our everyday language, Have You Eaten Grandma? is an endlessly useful and entertaining resource for all. Our language is changing, literary levels are declining, and our grasp of grammar is at a crisis point. From commas to colons, apostrophes to adverbs, there are countless ways we can make mistakes when writing or speaking. But do not despair! Great Britain's most popular grammar guru has created the ultimate modern manual for English speakers on both sides of the Atlantic. In this brilliantly funny and accessible guide to proper punctuation and so much more, Gyles Brandreth explores the linguistic horrors of our times, tells us what we've been doing wrong and shows us how, in the future, we can get it right every time. Covering everything from dangling participles to transitive verbs, from age-old conundrums like "lay" vs. "lie," to the confounding influences of social media on our everyday language, Have You Eaten Grandma? is an endlessly useful and entertaining resource for all. -- Provided by publisher Dedication Epigraph Introduction: Language Is Power Chapter 1. Have You Eaten Grandma?: Basic Punctuation Chapter 2. Must Dash—Hyphen Can Wait: Dashes, Hyphens, Slashes, and More! Chapter 3. Apostrophe Now: Apostrophes, Possession, and Omission Chapter 4. Spelling Is Big Potatoes: Spelling Rules, Prefixes, and Silent Letters Chapter 5. Of Mice & Meece & Mouses: Pluralization and Word Roots Chapter 6. Yanks Away: British versus American English Chapter 7. A Bad Spell of Whether: Homophones and Heterography Chapter 8. LOL—YOLO—Hahaha: Abbreviations, Initialisms, and Acronyms Chapter 9. Bad Language?: Offensive Language, Slang, and Wordplay Chapter 10. The Rules: Guidance for Good Communication Postscript: The Language of Grammar Acknowledgments Further Reading About the Author Index Copyright **For anyone who wants to make fewer (not less) grammar mistakes, a lively, effective, and witty guide to all the ins and outs of the English language, reminiscent of the __New York Times__ bestseller __Eats, Shoots & Leaves__.** __Have You Eaten Grandma?__ A style manual for English speakers on both sides of the Atlantic identifies the common mistakes and correct usage of everything from dangling participles to transitive verbs