Customer Reviews

Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage

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This is the best book you can own for the proper use of English. I was first aquainted with this book in graduate school many years ago when a professor trashed a paper that I had written and used "due to". He told me that "due to" should only be used as a cause of death (e.g. he died from complications of Alzheimer's). Any other time you should use "because", "as a result of", etc. He showed me this book then and I bought it for reference. I have since bought it several times for gifts to friends who need to use the English language properly. A great reference book!!!

Ain't, copacetic, happily, hopefully--if these make your skin creep you should check out the Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage. The authors have solicited opinions from a varied group of successful users of the USAmerican language, such as: Saul Bellow, Walter Cronkite, and Andy Rooney.

I learned everything I know about grammar and usage from this book! It was a gift to me as a teenager and it guided me to A's throughout high school and college. Who would have thought a dictionary could actually be FUN to read? Well this one is because it poses a multitude of common problems in contemporary usage, e.g. "to split or not to split infinitives", and then lets a range of academics and humorists tackle them. The results are both enlightening and amusing.

Too bad its out of print.

This book has been my right arm (write?) for years. I have an old edition, and refer to it constantly. One of the things I enjoy about it is the commentary, which is wise and witty, and always helpful. If you frequently find yourself being corrected by the "grammar police," this book is for you. Use it in good health.