Basic English Grammar for Dummies (Paperback, 2)

Introduction 1

Part 1: Getting Started with Basic English Grammar 9

Chapter 1: Getting a Grip on Grammar 11

Chapter 2: Language in Action 25

Part 2: Meeting the Parts of Speech 35

Chapter 3: People to See, Places to Go, Things to Remember: Recognizing Nouns 37

Chapter 4: Perfecting Pronouns 51

Chapter 5: Doing and Being Words: Verbs 67

Chapter 6: Describing with Adjectives and Adverbs 83

Chapter 7: Building Relationships with Prepositions 101

Chapter 8: Connecting and Commenting: Conjunctions and Interjections 113

Part 3: Creating Correct Sentences 125

Chapter 9: Making Progress: Verbs Ending in ?ing 127

Chapter 10: Putting the Past in Order: The Perfect Tenses 139

Chapter 11: Seeking Subjects 153

Chapter 12: Adding Meaning with Complements 169

Chapter 13: Writing Complete Sentences 183

Part 4: Punctuation and Capitalization 197

Chapter 14: Applying Apostrophes Accurately 199

Chapter 15: Catching a Break with Commas 213

Chapter 16: Who Said What: Quotation Marks 229

Chapter 17: Going Big: Capital Letters 243

Part 5: Grammar in Action 259

Chapter 18: Texting, Emailing, and Posting 261

Chapter 19: Presentation Slides and Bulleted Lists 271

Chapter 20: Writing at School and on the Job 283

Part 6: Fine-Tuning Your Writing 297

Chapter 21: Tricky Word Traps 299

Chapter 22: Avoiding Common Mistakes 311

Chapter 23: Finishing Touches: Advanced Grammar Topics 323

Part 7: The Part of Tens 339

Chapter 24: Ten Spelling Tips to Remember 341

Chapter 25: Five “Always” and Five “Never” Rules of English Grammar 347

Index 351