Home Search My Library
May I Quote You on That? : A Guide to Grammar and Usage

May I Quote You on That? : A Guide to Grammar and Usage

Author: Stephen Spector
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
Publication Date: 27 Aug 2015
ISBN-13: 9780190215286
Bookstore 1






Description


We all use language in different ways, depending on the situations we find ourselves in. In formal contexts we are usually expected to use a formal level of Standard English-the English codified in grammars, usage guides, and dictionaries.
In May I Quote You on That? Stephen Spector offers a new approach to learning Standard English grammar and usage. The product of Spector's forty years of teaching courses on the English language, this book makes the conventions of formal writing and speech easier and more enjoyable to learn than traditional approaches usually do. Each lesson begins with humorous, interesting, or instructive illustrative quotations from writers, celebrities, and historical figures. Mark Twain appears
alongside Winston Churchill, Yogi Berra, Woody Allen, Jerry Seinfeld, Stephen Colbert, Oprah, Lady Gaga, and many others. These quotations allow readers to infer the rules and word meanings from context. And if they stick in readers' memory, they can serve as models for the rules they exemplify. The lessons
then offer short essays, written in a conversational style, on the history of the rules or the words being discussed. But because English is constantly changing, the essays offer not only the traditional rules of Standard English, but also the current opinions of usage panelists, stylists, and language specialists. When rules are controversial, Spector offers advice about stylistic choices. A companion website features a workbook with practice drills.


Table of Contents


Introduction ; 1. What is Standard English? ; 2. Tricky Words, Usage, and Grammar ; 3. Tricky Words of the 20th Century and Today ; 4. Look-Alikes ; 5. Plurals


Author Description


Stephen Spector is Professor of English, State University of New York at Stonybrook






Related Books