| Author | Message | ||
| tristan watts
New member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 12 Registered: 04-2008 |
hi all, creativity has never been my problem..grammar and use of language as you can see from my posts. does anyone know any really good grammar books that would be able to help me get better... thanks in advance, tristan | ||
| ~M~
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 29692 Registered: 11-1998 |
Hi, tristan -- In my opinion, this is the best textbook concerning all aspects of grammar and its usage: Harbrace College Handbook It's readable, complete, well organized, and almost entertaining. It's saved my butt on many, many occasions. Hope this helps. Best, M | ||
| tristan watts
New member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 14 Registered: 04-2008 |
hi m, anything that could help would be great... thank you tristan | ||
| Gary Blankenship
Moderator Username: garydawg Post Number: 23480 Registered: 07-2001 |
And don't forget Strunk and White's Elements of Style. Or go to a large used book store and get a used 50s or 60s 8th or 9th grade English textbook. Smiles. Gary Celebrate Walt with Gary: http://www.poetrykit.org/pkl/tw10/tw4conte.htm | ||
| tristan watts
New member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 18 Registered: 04-2008 |
hi gary, thanks...i am going to do that too...you know the funny thing all of the grammar books in my house are french... a good english grammar book would be a good start. thanks tristan | ||
| Andrew Dufresne
Advanced Member Username: beachdreamer Post Number: 1495 Registered: 01-2006 |
I use The Little/ Brown Book available everywhere. Strunk and White Elements of Style is also good. ad | ||
| tristan watts
New member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 20 Registered: 04-2008 |
the little brown book? that sounds too cute to be used for grammar. thanks andrew | ||
| Douglas Hill
Valued Member Username: riverwriter Post Number: 299 Registered: 04-2007 |
More than a good grammar book, you need to read a diet of stylistically good English just to get the sense of the English language into your head. A grammar book is proof of certain things, but very abstract and difficult to translate into usage. Charles Dickens is a great starting point for this type of reading. | ||
| S. Thomas Summers
Advanced Member Username: s_thomas_summers Post Number: 1065 Registered: 10-2006 |
Strunk and White's Elements of Style - short and sweet. Very easy to follow! visit me at http://www.freewebs.com/sthomassummers/ author of "Death settled well" and "Rather, It Should Shine" | ||
| Fred Longworth
Senior Member Username: sandiegopoet Post Number: 3866 Registered: 05-2006 |
... (Message edited by sandiegopoet on April 30, 2008) Unofficial Forum Pariah recent victim of alien abduction | ||
| tristan watts
New member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 24 Registered: 04-2008 |
hi douglas, charles dickens? as in: a tale of two cities, oliver twist and so on and so forth? oih! i promise to try... thank you tristan p.s. what about shakespeare? | ||
| tristan watts
New member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 25 Registered: 04-2008 |
thank you thomas, easy to follow always works, especially with grammar. thank you tristan | ||
| David C.
Valued Member Username: david_shay_mish Post Number: 183 Registered: 07-2007 |
"What about Shakespeare?" you say? Yeah, he's ok too. | ||
| Gary Blankenship
Moderator Username: garydawg Post Number: 23481 Registered: 07-2001 |
A book of short stories, classical - ie, pre-1970 - any genre. For one thing, they are quicker to read and if your purposed is study, easier to absorb... Smiles. Gary Celebrate Walt with Gary: http://www.poetrykit.org/pkl/tw10/tw4conte.htm | ||
| tristan watts
New member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 26 Registered: 04-2008 |
(Message edited by Cementcoveredcherries on June 29, 2008) | ||
| tristan watts
New member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 27 Registered: 04-2008 |
hi david, i love shakespeare too... thanks tristan p.s. "if we shadows have offended..." | ||
| tristan watts
New member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 28 Registered: 04-2008 |
hi gary, that sounds good too. i love reading short stories. thank you tristan p.s. just finished the picture of dorian gray and i loved it. i have 2 kids, the shorter the story these days the better. have not been able to sink my teeth into a novel for a while. | ||
| David C.
Valued Member Username: david_shay_mish Post Number: 185 Registered: 07-2007 |
Tristan, if you're going to have a go at short stories - something I avoided for the longest time, foolishly as it turns out - try Turgenev's Sportsman's Notebook (or whatever they decide to call it nowadays). If anyone ever says literature changes nothing, that book was largely responsible for the end of the serf system in Tsarist Russia. No small thing, eh? (In the long run, of course ... well, never mind that.) Cheers David | ||
| tristan watts
New member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 30 Registered: 04-2008 |
hi david, thank you so much for the advice. i think that i will. best tristan p.s. no it really isn't a small thing. | ||
| Andrew Dufresne
Advanced Member Username: beachdreamer Post Number: 1498 Registered: 01-2006 |
Little/ Brown is a publishing house. I'm sure they're cute, as well... ad | ||
| tristan watts
New member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 31 Registered: 04-2008 |
sorry andrew, i had no idea, but would that not sound like a cute name for a book? ooooppps, tristan | ||
| Douglas Hill
Valued Member Username: riverwriter Post Number: 300 Registered: 04-2007 |
I would not recommend Shakespeare to someone looking to normalize style: while his work is a wonderful stirrer of vocabulary, Shakespeare uses inversions that are considered affected syntax in modern writing. | ||
| David C.
Valued Member Username: david_shay_mish Post Number: 187 Registered: 07-2007 |
Get you hence, sirrah; saucy fellow, hence! Out, alas, sir! cozenage, mere cozenage! Or, to put it another way, you are quite right, Douglas. | ||
| ~M~
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 29697 Registered: 11-1998 |
Hey, Freddie -- can you at least let them get their feet wet before you start snappin' at 'em like an ol' turtle? Or do I have to get out the whip and the chair again?  Thanks. Love, M | ||
| tristan watts
New member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 32 Registered: 04-2008 |
hiya david & douglas, you guys should have your own commedy routine... definatly got the hit on shakespeare, will stick to dickens... cheers, tristan | ||
| Michael Reed Samford
Valued Member Username: mikesamford Post Number: 166 Registered: 03-2008 |
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/ this site is quick and easy to get too and has all you will need to check your poems. I use it all the time (Don't know if that speaks well of the site are not!) Hope to help. | ||
| tristan watts
New member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 33 Registered: 04-2008 |
thanks michael, will check it out right now. tristan | ||
| tristan watts
New member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 34 Registered: 04-2008 |
oh my michael, thank you tristan | ||
| tristan watts
New member Username: cementcoveredcherries Post Number: 36 Registered: 04-2008 |
hi all, wanted to say thank you for all of your thoughts and suggestions. best, tristan |
