Grammar : a friendly approach / Christine Sinclair.

Previous ed.: 2007.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Introduction --A soap opera in a grammar book--Questions about grammar--How the book is structured--How to annoy teachers and professors--What students worry about--Comments on questions--Conclusion: general advice about grammar and language--2. Bad language--Trying to be posh--Questions about language--Idioms: how words are usually used--Easily confused words--Going through a bad spell--Singulars and plurals--Formal doesn\'t have to mean pompous--What are you trying to say?--The Author, one or 1?--Its, like, a figure of speech--Comments on questions--Conclusion: advice about word choice--3. Standard practice--Why can\'t I use my own language?--Questions about \'correct\' English--Standard English: do we need it?--Examples of uses that are not standard--Spoken and written english--Academic english--Comments on questions--Conclusion: advice about dialects and standard english--4. Who or what is the subject?--A favourite subject - \'I\'--Questions about subjects of sentences--Simple and compound subjects--When subjects move around--Subject closed--Comments on questions--Conclusion: advice about sentences and subjects--5. Where\'s the action? The verb--Doing, being and happening--Questions about verbs--Mangling and dangling participles--Getting tense with verbs--My past, present and future--Facts and possibilities--Comments on questions--Conclusion: advice about verbs--6. The complete sentence--Can students write in sentences?--Questions about sentences--The sentence as a unit of thought or grammatical structure--The sentence and punctuation--Sentences and paragraphs--Breaking up is hard to do--Comments on questions--Conclusion: advice about sentences--7. What goes wrong with sentences?--Too much or too little--Questions about sentence errors--How to avoid running sentences together--How to avoid chopping sentences in two--Sentenced to death!--Comments on questions--Conclusion: advice about fixing sentences--8. Speaking personally--Having a voice--Questions about personal expression--Reasons for using the passive--When passives get awkward--When people get awkward--Expressing an opinion without saying \'I\'-- Bring me back: reflective writing--Reflections on what\'s going wrong--Comments on questions--Conclusion: advice about personal writing--9. More on complex sentences: relationships and relatives--Talking about relatives--Questions about relationships and clauses--Words expressing relationship--Revisiting the subordinates--Relative clauses: defining and describing a brother--Every which way but that--Comments on questions--Conclusion: advice about relative clauses--10. How to be offensive with punctuation--Define without using commas--Questions about punctuation--The functions of punctuation marks--Putting punctuation to work--Punctuation within words--A dodgy colon and a full stop--Comments on questions--Conclusion: advice about punctuation--11. That pesky apostrophe--Getting possessive and going missing--Questions about apostrophes--What\'s happening to the apostrophe?--How to use an apostrophe to show possession--How to use and apostrophe to show omission--Hold the apostrophe!--That Lynn Truss has a lot to answer for!--Comments on questions Conclusion: advice about apostrophes--Checking the checker--A house of correction--Questions about grammar checkers--Pitfalls with grammar checkers--How to use a grammar checker knowledgeably--What happens next?--Comments on questions--Conclusion: advice about grammar checkers--13. Quote/unquote - avoiding plagiarism--Credit where it\'s due--Questions about referencing--Grammar and punctuation in referencing--What goes in the quotation marks?--Double or single quotes--Different systems for referencing--Oh what a giveaway--In your own words--Comments on questions--Conclusion: advice about avoiding plagiarism--14. The machine\'s out to get us--Technology makes it possible--Questions about technology in grammar and language--Catching plagiarism - or helping to avoid it--Should computers mark essays?--Friendly computing: assistive technology--The human touch--Comments on questions--Conclusion: comments on technology and grammar--15. Finale--16. Glossary.

Examining the issues of language use, grammar and punctuation that cause the most difficulties for students, this text blends a story about three students - Barbara, Kim and Abel - with advice on specific areas of grammar.

Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. ebrary 2010 Available via World Wide Web Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries