Customer Reviews

Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay: Practical Advice For The Grammatically Challenged

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From the Grammar Goddess: This one is wonderful! Richard Lederer not only still finds humor in our language, he even goes over some of the rules that we all need to know but have forgotten. And he explains how to use which and that about as well as it can be explained. If you want to learn and laugh, pick up this book now!

This is not really a book about grammar; for example, if you misuse the word "literally" or "penultimate" because who don't know what it means, well, bob's your uncle, but you are not struggling with grammar. The book has a lot of examples like these, but doesn't address many of the really difficult grammatical mistakes that I make and that I hear.

I am extremely surprised, for example, that the author does not mention the use of "Fred and I" when "Fred and me" should be used, in for example "Jane played golf with Fred and me". Strangely, the author does mention the use of "myself" in place of "me" (thus, "Jane played golf with Fred and myself") but seems to think people say "myself" because they feel it pretentious to say "me". I believe they say "myself" because they are not sure if "me" or "I" is correct. Maybe it's just I, but me hear people say "with Fred and I" all the time now, and it's driving I crazy, believe you myself.

It was my misfortune to grow up in an educational era that lacked foucs on grammar. My papers were always returned with more red corrections than black type; however, no explaination was given to prevent further (not farther) error.

Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay was the first step in my grammatical journey. It was fun, and easy to follow. I recommend it to anyone who wants to polish up on their grammar usage, or who just wants a basic grammar foundation to work from.

This book has an entertaining approach and is very readable. However I was very distressed at the authors' errors, really inexcusable given the intent of the book. For example, (pg9) in the sentence, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone," the author states that "Who is without sin" is a restrictive clause describing "who." Since when can a clause modify part of itself? The clause modifies the word "him." And on the next page, the author states that the gerund "playing" is the object of the verb phrase "disapproved of." When, may I ask, did "of" turn into a verb? In the example sentence,"The conductor disapproved of the tuba player's chewing betel nut during the concert," the gerund "chewing" is actually the object of the preposition "of." And the author should know better. On pg 80, in a section on proper word choice, "exhort" is misspelled as "exort." On page 195 he confuses a compound predicate with a dependent clause. Pointing out such errors may be nit-picking, but in a book about grammar, the grammar jolly well better be correct.

This one will put some fun back into your labors! English has become the language of commerce & computers all around the world, & it behoves us to not only become fluent, we also need to put our words in order & avoid inter-cultural confusion with worn out cliches - in short we had better get better at writing & speaking our mother tongue.

So you're confused about _irregardless_ or _literally_ - do you really mean cats & dogs were dropping from the sky? Or _unique_ - neither more nor less, it simply is! What about _viable_ - what do you think it means? Well, it doesn't!

Lederer & Dowis bring to bear their playful & instructive wit on such elusive fundamentals as the syntax, the apostrophe, transitive verbs, the common comma & the myriad errors to which we fall heir.

With mnemonic devices(look it up!), frequent reminders to get a dictionary & use it, together with important advice on how to monitor ourselves before we hit that Send key & slather our deranged & idiomatic(not idiotic!) versions over the broadband, this witty & useful guide could become every harried writer's best friend.

These two fellows have made re-learning our language fun! I'm reading along, getting more & more confused, when, BAM! They add a fillip that opens my eyes & rattles my brain.

The authors' descriptions of common pitfalls and their advice on how to avoid making oft-repeated errors are extremely helpful, and the good humor and high spirits make the much-needed lessons all the more memorable. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wishes to treat the language with the knowledge and respect it deserves.

This is an instructional book with a sense of humor. Rather than be lulled to sleep with rules, this book wittily explains some of the finer points of writing.

Tips abound in this volume of insight into the world of grammar. A fair part of this book is focused on commonly confused words. Knowing the difference in the words will help any writer overcome the false confidence that spell-check and grammar-check give. This book is not just about grammar. The authors included a section on improving spelling and a section on improving writing in general. Each is explained well and has examples.

Another feature of this book worth mentioning is the quizzes given. The answers are in the back, which allows the readers to test their knowledge.

Although the wording is easy to follow, beginners may not get the most out of this book unless they are already familiar with the parts of speech. As a reference for those wanting to upgrade their writing, this fits the bill. I would recommend it.

"Our children need to 'score' better in math and science." Whenever I hear this plaintive mantra so common in both Canada and the U.S.A. nowadays, I want to retort with a primal scream: LET THEM BECOME LITERATE FIRST! This excellent reference book belongs in every student's backpack, in every home, in every office. (In a perfect world, every English teacher would be required to memorize it.)

This book contains many useful and entertaining snippets of English language usage (none of which are used in this review). The topics range from busting language myths to clearing up common word misuses. Personally, I found the Ten Minute Writing Lesson to be the most helpful chapter (again, none of the tips are employed here).
Overall, it is an entertaining way to beef-up your writting.

The book is entertaining, and as long as you already know the correct use of the English language, you might enjoy the read. The author presents us with a self assured "I am right, and PLBPLBLB on those who may disagree..." type of attitude, which would be OK if only the author was correct. But the book is full of errors and opinions, along with correct and accurate information. So, if you can sort it out yourself, you're all set. Otherwise, I'd find some more qualified authors work to base my education on.