Customer Reviews

Word Up!

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I just finished WORD UP! A LIVELY LOOK AT ENGLISH by rob kyff, aka "the word guy" . . . I've long enjoyed kyff's columns in my local paper; in addition, I had the pleasure of interviewing him on a radio show I once hosted . . . so it was with great anticipation that I looked forward to this book . . . and I was not disappointed! . . . I never thought grammar could be both interesting and funny, but it is here . . . I particulalry liked the quizzes at the end of each chapter that give you a chance to test your word knowledge.

There's much useful advice contained in the 183 too-brief pages . . . However, my favorite part dealt with: eight rules you can break . . . to cite just two:

Never split an infinitive Generally you should refrain from splitting an infinitive when doing so causes confusion or awkward rhythm. for instead, instead of writing, "It is sometimes wrong to completely, absolutely and totally separate a verb from to," you should write, "It is sometimes wrong to separate a verb completely, absolutely and totally from to."

Never end a sentence with a preposition In some sentences, we actually do want to emphasize the final preposition as in, "He doesn't know what a turn signal is for," or "She didn't realize what this was all about."

I never miss Rob's column in the St. Augustine Record. He's fast becoming today's John Ciardi, and he could easily go a few rounds with word mavens Bill Safire and James J. Kilpatrick. Etymology is always lots of fun, and Rob gives that subject the long shrift it deserves. I especially enjoyed the short quizzes sprinkled throughout the text. Buy this one!