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Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English
 
 
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Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English (Paperback)

by Patricia T. O'Connor (Author) "When a tiny word gives you a big headache, it's probably a pronoun..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Verbal Abuse, Councilman Windbag (more...)
4.4 out of 5 stars  (115 customer reviews)


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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Written by Patricia T. O'Conner, an editor at the New York Times Book Review, Woe Is I gives lighthearted, witty instruction on the subject most of us dreaded in school--grammar. Discussion is brief and concise, and much more engaging than the grammar books you may remember. With chapter titles such as "Woe is I: Therapy for Pronoun Anxiety," "Your Truly: The Possessive and the Possessed," "Verbal Abuse: Words on the Endangered List," "Comma Sutra; The Joy of Punctuation," and "Death Sentence: Do Cliches Deserve to Die?," O'Conner proves that even grammar can make for entertaining reading. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
The second edition of O'Connor's delightful guide to good English offers a new chapter on e-mail etiquette that ought to make many people-even grammar snobs-feel a tad guilty: "E-mail," she writes, "is no excuse for lousy English." Let your audience determine your attention to tone and mechanics; use salutations and signatures; resist the urge to indiscriminately forward mail; and leave those emoticons and abbreviations at home, she says. Commonsense stuff-but every once in a while, it's nice to be reminded. The rest of the volume is similar to the first: witty, economical and fun to read, it explains the secrets to grammar in refreshingly jargon-free sentences illustrated by numerous examples ("'I assure you,' said the grieving widow, 'I ensured he was insured to the hilt'"). When is "majority" plural, and when singular? How does saying "Trixie loves spaghetti more than I?" mean something completely different than "Trixie loves spaghetti more than me?" While the volume is certainly handy to someone struggling with grammar basics-there are few style guides so breezy-the "Verbal Abuse" section will appeal to language experts and purists, especially those who decry the use of partner as a verb, or grow with a direct object (as in "grow the business"). As for those who like to use dialogue as a verb, "Don't talk to them," O'Connor says.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details
  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Riverhead Trade (August 1, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1573226254
  • ISBN-13: 978-1573226257
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  (115 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #214,187 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
    (Publishers and authors: Improve Your Sales)
  • Also Available in: Hardcover (2nd) |  Paperback (2nd) |  Unknown Binding  |  All Editions