One Day in the Life of the English Language: A Microcosmic Usage Handbook - Rilegato

Cioffi, Frank L.

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0691165076 ISBN 13: 9780691165073

Casa editrice: Princeton Univ Pr, 2015

Riassunto

Generations of student writers have been subjected to usage handbooks that proclaim, "This is the correct form. Learn it"—books that lay out a grammar, but don't inspire students to use it. By contrast, this antihandbook handbook, presenting some three hundred sentences drawn from the printed works of a single, typical day in the life of the language—December 29, 2008—tries to persuade readers that good grammar and usage matter.

Using real-world sentences rather than invented ones, One Day in the Life of the English Language gives students the motivation to apply grammatical principles correctly and efficiently. Frank Cioffi argues that proper form undergirds effective communication and ultimately even makes society work more smoothly, while nonstandard English often marginalizes or stigmatizes a writer. He emphasizes the evolving nature of English usage and debunks some cherished but flawed grammar precepts. Is it acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition? It is. Can you start a sentence with a conjunction? You can. OK to split an infinitive? No problem.

A grammar and usage handbook like no other, One Day in the Life of the English Language features accessible chapters divided into "Fundamentals," "Fine Tuning," and "Deep Focus," allowing readers to select a level most suited to their needs. It also includes a glossary, a teachers' guide, and a section refuting some myths about digital-age English.

Su questo libro

L'autore:

Frank L. Cioffi is professor of English at Baruch College, City University of New York, and has taught writing at Princeton and Indiana universities and at Bard and Scripps colleges. He is the author of The Imaginative Argument: A Practical Manifesto for Writers (Princeton), among other books.

Contenuti:

Preface xi
Navigation Tips xix
Introduction
The Starting Idea: You and Your Audience 1
Preview of the Following Pages 7
December 29, 2008, as History 10
Two Disclaimers 20
On Using Sentences from the Real World 23
Formal Usage—Its Rules and Value 31
"If you don't have grammar, you don't have sense" 40
1 Actants, Actions, Ongoing States: Nouns, Verbs, and the Sentences They Form
Why Learn the Parts of Speech? 45
Fundamentals 49
Fine Tuning 56
Deep Focus 71
2 Words That Modify and Orient: Adjectives, Adverbs, Conjunctions, Prepositions, Articles, Interjections
The Power of Small Words Well Deployed 88
Adjectives 89
Adverbs 99
Conjunctions 114
Prepositions 123
Articles 128
Interjections 133
3 Who Is He/She? Pronouns
A Whole Chapter on Pronouns? 134
Fundamentals 135
Fine Tuning 150
Deep Focus 160
4 Punctuation, Part I—The Comma: Promiscuous Uses
Introduction: Punctuation Substitutes for Oral Emphases, Facial Expressions, and Body Language 167
Fundamentals 169
Fine Tuning 193
Deep Focus 200
5 Punctuation, Part II—The Colon, Semicolon, and More Mysteries of Punctuation The Colon and Semicolon 207
The Apostrophe 217
The Dash 228
The Quotation Mark 232
End Punctuation and Combining Sentences 241
6 Diction: Sentences as Clockwork
On the Interconnectedness of Words 254
Fundamentals 258
A Microconclusion 286
Appendix I: Fifteen Myths of Digital-Age English 293
Appendix II: Using This Book to Teach College Writing: A Microguide 301
Fifty Key Terms: A Microglossary 317
Works Cited
General Sources 329
December 29, 2008, Examples 335
Index 351

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Princeton Univ Pr
• Data di pubblicazione: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0691165076
• ISBN 13: 9780691165073
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 355