Table Of Content

Cover Page: i Introduction Page: 1 About This Book Page: 1 Conventions Used in This Book Page: 2 Foolish Assumptions Page: 2 Icons Used in This Book Page: 2 Where to Go from Here Page: 3 Chapter 1: Grasping Grammar Nitty-Gritty Page: 5 Grammar: What It Is! Page: 6 The Big Ideas of Grammar Page: 7 Putting Grammar to Work in the Real World Page: 11 Chapter 2: Making Peace between Subjects and Verbs Page: 13 Getting Reacquainted with Verbs Page: 14 Identifying Subjects Page: 18 Give Peace a Chance: Making Subjects and Verbs Agree Page: 22 Coming to an Agreement with Difficult Subjects Page: 27 Chapter 3: Perfecting Your Pronoun Usage Page: 33 Playing Matchmaker with Pronouns and Nouns Page: 33 Selecting Singular or Plural Pronouns Page: 35 Getting Possessive with Your Pronouns Page: 37 Keeping Your Pronouns and Antecedents Close Page: 38 Pairing Pronouns with Pronoun Antecedents Page: 40 Avoiding Sexist Pronouns Page: 43 Chapter 4: Constructing a Complete Sentence Page: 45 Creating Complete Sentences from Complete Thoughts Page: 46 Banning Fragments from Formal Writing Page: 51 Enough Is Enough: Avoiding Run-ons Page: 52 Attaching Sentences Legally Page: 54 Connecting Unequal Ideas Page: 56 Combining Sentences with Pronouns Page: 61 Don’t Keep Your Audience Hanging: Removing Danglers Page: 62 Chapter 5: Drawing Parallels (Without the Lines) Page: 65 Seeking Balance Page: 65 Striving for Consistency Page: 68 Using Conjunction Pairs Correctly Page: 72 Constructing Proper Comparisons Page: 73 Chapter 6: Adjectives, Adverbs, and Comparisons Page: 75 Spotting Adjectives Page: 75 Hunting for Adverbs Page: 79 Sorting through Some Sticky Choices Page: 81 Getting Picky about Word Placement Page: 83 Creating Comparisons Page: 86 Chapter 7: Polishing Your Punctuation Page: 93 More Rules Than the IRS: Using Apostrophes Page: 93 Quoting Correctly Page: 98 Making Comma Sense Page: 103 Mastering Dashes Page: 111 Wielding Hyphens with Ease Page: 113 Creating a Stopping Point: Colons Page: 114 Chapter 8: Capitalizing Correctly Page: 117 Covering the Basic Rules Page: 117 Capitalizing (Or Not) References to People Page: 118 Getting a Geography Lesson: Places, Directions, and More Page: 122 Looking at Seasons and Times of Day Page: 123 Getting Schooled in Education Terms Page: 123 Wrestling with Capitals in Titles Page: 124 Writing about Events and Eras Page: 125 Capitalizing Abbreviations Page: 126 Chapter 9: Choosing the Right Words Page: 127 One Word or Two? Page: 127 Separating Possessive Pronouns from Contractions Page: 129 Using Words That Seem Interchangeable but Aren’t Page: 131 A Word and a Phrase to Avoid Page: 137 Chapter 10: Tackling Other Troublemakers Page: 139 Creating Noun Plurals Page: 139 Perfecting Prepositions Page: 142 Deleting Double Negatives Page: 147 Chapter 11: Improving Your Writing Page: 149 Identifying Your Audience Page: 149 Cutting Ties with Your Computer Grammar Checker Page: 151 Giving Your Writing Punch with Great Verbs Page: 152 Deleting All That’s Extra Page: 156 Spicing Up Boring Sentences Page: 157 Writing for Electronic Media Page: 160 Chapter 12: Ten Ways to Improve Your Grammar Every Day Page: 165 Pick Up a Good Book Page: 165 Read the Newspaper Page: 166 Sample Some Magazines Page: 166 Delve into Strunk and White Page: 166 Surf the Web Page: 167 Review Style Manuals Page: 167 Watch High-Quality TV Shows Page: 168 Peruse the News Page: 168 Download Podcasts Page: 168 Listen to Authorities Page: 169 Index Page: 171 About the Author Page: 181 Connect with Dummies Page: 182 End User License Agreement Page: 183

Description:

Grammar Essentials For Dummies (9781119589617) was previously published as Grammar Essentials For Dummies(9780470618370). While this version features a new Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product.

For students competing for the decreasing pool of college scholarships, writing a stellar entrance essay can make all the difference. With discrete explanations of vital grammar rules, common usage errors, and the other key concepts people need to refer to most often, Grammar Essentials For Dummies provides crucial information to help students communicate accurately and effectively. This guide is also a perfect reference for parents who need to review critical grammar concepts as they help students with homework assignments or college entrance essays, as well as for adult learners headed back into the classroom and people learning English as a next language.

The Essentials For Dummies Series
Dummies is proud to present our new series, The Essentials For Dummies. Now students who are prepping for exams, preparing to study new material, or who just need a refresher can have a concise, easy-to-understand review guide that covers an entire course by concentrating solely on the most important concepts. From algebra and chemistry to grammar and Spanish, our expert authors focus on the skills students most need to succeed in a subject.