The English Language: A User's Guide [Paperback]

Jack Lynch (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1585101850 | ISBN-13: 978-1585101856 | Publication Date: January 5, 2008

Updated and expanded from one of the most popular grammar sites on the web, this book provides a modern guide to English usage for the 21st century. With topics arranged alphabetically and written in an enjoyable and readable tone, The English Language: A User s Guide will help students and writers understand the nature of the language, explaining the why of the rules as well as what constitutes good grammar and style. Going beyond the prescriptive wrong /right examples, Jack Lynch includes examples of weak/strong, good/better, disputed/preferred, and informal/formal usage. Also included: Introductory Essay Using This Guide A Guide to Citation Additional Readings An online companion is available.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Anyone who spends time at all reading or writing, whether for purpose or pleasure, will delight in The English Language: A Users Guide. Lynch s book is not just informative and gracefully written but also it s downright fun to read. I learned more in ten minutes grazing Lynch s book than I would have in an hour plodding through just about any other writers guide, plus I found myself laughing out loud in the process! It s a pleasure to recommend this wonderful book. --James Lake, Louisiana State University

From the Back Cover

Updated and expanded from one of the most popular grammar sites on the web, this book provides a modern guide to English usage for the 21st century. With topics arranged alphabetically and written in an enjoyable and readable tone, The English Language: A User’s Guide will help students and writers understand the nature of the language, explaining the “why” of the rules as well as what constitutes good grammar and style. Going beyond the prescriptive wrong /right examples, Jack Lynch includes examples of weak/strong, good/better, disputed/preferred, and informal/formal usage.

Also included:

? Introductory Essay

? Using This Guide

? A Guide to Citation

? Additional Reading

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company (January 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585101850
• ISBN-13: 978-1585101856
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jack Lynch is Associate Professor of English at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey. He's the author of a series of books and articles -- some for scholarly audiences, some for popular audiences -- on eighteenth-century culture, Samuel Johnson, William Shakespeare, the history of the English language, English grammar and style, reference books, and forgery, fakery, and fraud.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Need This Book -- We All Do, July 20, 2009

By 

David Kirk (Upstate, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The English Language: A User's Guide (Paperback)

That you're reading this review at all is proof, not just that you need (and will enjoy) this book, but that you appreciate the importance of language. You may already have a stack of books on language, yet you're still looking. That was my struggle too. After reading any of the other books for 10 minutes, I was ready to do something else; English can be boring. Those other books of mine have good information, but the effort to dig it out and find relevance is work. Enter Jack Lynch's book! :) Immediate improvement.

Where other books seem to be written by grammar police, this book is filled with useful and workable information and acknowledges that some aspects of the language aren't worth losing sleep over. The book is fun and I find myself enjoying the author's perspective as much as I do the information presented. Don't get me wrong; this is no quickie book on how to write well, but a thorough text on the subject. Yes, you still need your Strunk and White; having two quality references for comparison is always good, but this book has a permanent space on my desk, whereas my other language reference books are in the book shelf.

What I especially appreciate in reading the book is that it has improved how I think about what I say and write. Language is not just following some rules, but a means to clarify your thoughts to others. The book excels in this and it's not a specific topic within the book, but always just beneath the surface throughout. People pay me to help them get their message across and this book is priceless to me.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I agree that this is a great book., July 31, 2009

By 

Yngad (wash, dc) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The English Language: A User's Guide (Paperback)

I think this is the best reference-type grammar book that I have seen. Instead of just being filled with a bunch of rules-of thumb, it provides explanation of why to use a particular rule. The best part: For lack of a better way of putting it, the book does not subscribe to moral relativism in grammar. The author does recognize that rules of grammar or not defined by law, but he emphasizes the importance of using good grammar where there is a so-called recognized standard.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be mandatory reading for all students before graduating., April 6, 2010

By 

New Jersey 1 "88" (US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The English Language: A User's Guide (Paperback)

Great content, great organization, great tone, and extremely helpful for those who still care about writing proficiently and accurately. This will be the best book you buy this year.