Customer Reviews

Nitty-Gritty Grammar: A Not-So-Serious Guide to Clear Communication

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"Nitty-Gritty Grammar" is an outstanding book. I read it prior to having its authors Edith Fine and Judith Josephson on my talk radio show on WRKO Radio in Boston. They were informative and funny and the phone lines were full the entire hour they were on my show. The key to this book is that it is both educational and entertaining. In someone else's hands, this book could be a real snoozer. In Judith and Edith's hands, it is a work of art. If you read this book, you will stop making up "irregardless" and other words which don't exist (see page 85.) You will stop mispronouncing words like "asterisk" (it's not asterick-- see page 72.) And you will never again misplace your apostrophes, dangle your participles or commit other high crimes and misdemeanors against grammar, spelling, punctuation and pronunciation (see pages 1-102--the entire book.) The book includes many cartoons which will teach you while you laugh. The section on "Ways to Tame the Spelling Monster" is indispensable with clever ways to remember the correct spelling of words including "dessert" (it has two s's--think strawbery shortcake). If you only read the "ticker tape" which runs throughout the book at the bottom of each page, you will learn more than you did in twelve years of boring English classes. The amazing part of this book is that it can be used by children, teenagers and adults. I suggest you buy copies for your entire family and all your friends and coworkers. They'll speak properly when they thank you.

Bob Katzen, WRKO Radio, Boston, Massachusett

As a writing teacher and home schooler, I haven't found a more enjoyable grammar reference book. My 11 year old son picked it up one day and read straight through the entire book in one afternoon. The appeal of the cartoons, the easy to understand explanations and the user friendly format make this the grammar reference of choice for all grammar-impaired parents who teach their own kids. I highly recommend it!

My multiple copies of Nitty-Gritty Grammar all remain dust-free. We relish our pleasant explorations into our quirky language as I hand NGG to family and collegues whenever grammar questions come up. We used to check several grammar books. Now, NGG is all we use. No matter how unique the question, NGG always has the answer-with clear, easy-to-understand examples.

We have multiple copies of Nitty-Gritty Grammar in each of our offices at work. At home, we keep one copy in my home office, one in the family room, and one in my daughter's homework area. My friend who teaches English initially bought NGG for each of his ESL students. He now buys a copy for ALL of his students. He tells them they need to all buy their own personal copies to take to college and beyond.

Whenever we look something up in NGG at work or home, we "surf" through other pages, sharing other tidbits of not-so-serious grammar. We're not that desperate for entertainment. NGG is just such a delightful and practical resource. A "must-have" that just happens to be very entertaining.

Over the years I've fallen into poor grammer habits. This little gem of a book has helped me clean up my act--or should I say mouth! Keep it close by so you can consult it often. The fun layout makes it easy to grab a quick lesson here and there.

Thank God my mother sent me Nitty-Gritty Grammar. I'm a business man who works on Wall Street, and I have found NGG to be an indispensible (and fun) reference book. I use it constantly when writing my research studies and memos. I recommend it for anyone in the business world who has to write more than his or her name.

So...last night I read through the vast majority of Nitty-Gritty Grammar and I gotta tell ya (this is a relaxed review), I liked what I read. In fact, I picked it up again tonight and found what I believe to be the best page -- 86! I have often erroneously used et. al., i.e., and e.g. I knew there was a difference and just never took the time. That's why this book is good. It reads like a good trivia book...lots of gems of knowledge packed in a tight, quick reference format. The ticker-tape tips at the bottom of each page in the shaded section are very handy. The book's organization is strong, as I would expect. For people on the go and who need quick references, such effective organization is crucial. Cartoons are additive, but the book could surely stand on its own. It's a dynamite guide in keeping with the easy-reference approach of the AP Stylebook. Nothin' fancy - "Just the facts ma'am." See page 27 - Sherrie (my wife) and I have a question about a grammar rule and eagerly await guidance. It seems there may be an exception to the who/m rule. For example, if we ask, "Whom shall I say is calling?" It's the rule, right? Well then, if we rephrase it, we would say, "I shall say he is calling," but not, "I shall say 'him' is calling." So, is that an exception to the rule? I wonder...if in the second edition, there might be an "exceptions" page - even if what we ask here is wrong and there's an easy answer...I'm sure there are exceptions to some rules - perhaps it could be set up like a trivia section. Sherrie (my wife), who has her degree in English and is currently and ESL instructor, REALLY liked the book - its whole approach. She wants to keep it on her grammar shelf and I want it for my public relations work. Looks like we may need a second copy!

Our child brought home grammar for the third grade and we had forgotten half of what we had learned in school. This book really helped us out greatly and I am sure we will get a lot more use out of it in years to come.

I love this book! It is never more than an arm's length away from my computer. There have been many instances when I needed to look up a simple rule. It was usually a rule that I knew at one time but couldn't remember at that moment. In Nitty-Gritty Grammar, I always find the answer to my question. If you have grammar questions, (and who doesn't) this is the book for you!

I may be the only person in the world who loved diagramming sentences. (Until I found Nitty-Gritty Grammar, I thought I was the only person in the world who remembered diagramming sentences.) Having chosen to make my living with words, I have a particular sensitivity to their misuse. Someday someone will tell me where he's at once too often and I shall commit mayhem. The person who speaks of something as more or most unique deserves what she gets. As does the miscreant who can't keep singular and plural sorted out, and the one who refuses to use objective case when it's needed. Dangling participles, on the other hand, delight me. As do misplaced modifiers. And the inadvertent double-entendre. I was delighted to find that the church newsletter editor had asked everyone with recipes for the new cookbook to turn them into me. I was tickled to read that a father of ten, shot in a hunting accident, had been mistaken for a rabbit. Generally speaking , though, it's a good idea to know what you're doing when you sit down to write something. It's also a good idea to have a handy-dandy reference nearby, no matter how smart you are. (Never, never, never trust one of those grammar gizmos that come with word-processing programs. They were created by penguins whose native language is prehistoric pidgin.) So give everyone you know a copy of this book. Believe me, they all need it. Besides, if you don't, they're going to borrow yours. And you won't get it back.

This book is accessible and fun. Being a careless letter writer, I am often corrected by my grammarily sound offspring. I sat down in my kitchen with the book intending to skip through a few pages. I found it impossible to stop reading.

This one resource is all anyone would ever need to become skilled in the use of our puzzling language. The ticker tape "links" at the bottom of each page are ingenious and invaluable. This book does indeed get down to the nitty-gritty of grammar - and if schools don't use this one, they are making a big mistake!