It all began with the Spanish Inquisition 500 years ago, when the first grammar book was presented to the Queen of Spain with the explanation, “Language is the perfect instrument of empire.” Since then, most people have lived in fear of the Grammar Hammer - the swing and miss that bruises their reputation when they make a fatal grammar error. Fear of the Grammar Hammer has kept otherwise highly literate people from careers that require writing. But learning to use correct grammar isn’t so hard as you might think - as writer, editor, and English teacher Douglas Cazort shows in Under the Grammar Hammer.
The spirit of this little grammar book is simplicity. Because Cazort believes most people already know more about grammar than they know they know, terminology is used sparingly. Instead, he takes the twenty-five most common grammar mistakes (the 20 percent of mistakes we make 80 percent of the time) and attaches to each some easy to remember rules of thumb. In all cases, his first rule of thumb is “Write first, edit later!” The mistakes are ranked in order of seriousness, from the most egregious to the least offensive, with consideration given to five less common but serious mistakes. Cazort’s sense of humor keeps the subject matter moving along lightly. In no time at all, you’ll be writing more freely and with greater confidence - and safely out from under the Grammar Hammer.
The spirit of this little grammar book is simplicity. Because Cazort believes most people already know more about grammar than they know they know, terminology is used sparingly. Instead, he takes the twenty-five most common grammar mistakes (the 20 percent of mistakes we make 80 percent of the time) and attaches to each some easy to remember rules of thumb. In all cases, his first rule of thumb is “Write first, edit later!” The mistakes are ranked in order of seriousness, from the most egregious to the least offensive, with consideration given to five less common but serious mistakes. Cazort’s sense of humor keeps the subject matter moving along lightly. In no time at all, you’ll be writing more freely and with greater confidence - and safely out from under the Grammar Hammer.
