The Grouchy Grammarian
A How-Not-To Guide to the 47 Most Common Mistakes in English Made by Journalists, Broadcasters, and Others Who Should Know Better
Chapter One
Think!
The grouchy grammarian instructed me to tell you at
the beginning that he can't teach anybody every individual
thing and neither can I, but that we can "damn well" try
to hound you into THINKING. Hence I begin with his fundamental
rule:
Think about what you're saying-
know what it means and where it came from.
Though this rule is general rather than specific, discussion
of it gives us the chance to take a sort of overview of our subject.
Besides, the principle suffers from such frequent violation, as the
grouch likes to say, that it unquestionably belongs among the
forty-seven topics: "You can't stress it too much, Parrish!" But
too busy to heed it, you say? No time? Well, surely you're not
too busy to wish to avoid appearing ignorant in public, are you?
And maybe tomorrow, or ... read full excerpt from The Grouchy GrammarianTM: A How-Not-To Guide to the 47 Most Common Mistakes in English Made by Journalists, Broadcasters, and Others Who Should Know B ebook
