Improving my grammar?

hollyfan · Aug 26, 2011

Me personally, I feel that my grammar is excellent, and I know when something is grammaticality wrong when I see it.

I would like to be able to discuss the technicalities of grammar, though. There are so many things I don't fully understand: like filtering, comma splices, compound tenses, participle clauses, infinite and non-finite verbs, independent clauses, etc. etc. etc..

I mean, one has to study stuff like this to learn it all, right? You can't just "read" and "write" to learn these things, can you? Does a novelist who wants to make a living out of writing have to know all about the technicalities of grammar? Or is it just good enough to understand grammar by using it well and understanding it properly?

Are there any good grammar books out there that would teach me these things? Quite frankly, I feel rather stupid when people exploit all the grammar jargon and nomenclatures and when I don't understand them.

Many thanks.

Chris1981 · Aug 26, 2011

I got a lot out of "Understanding English Grammar." (The link goes to Amazon.) This is a textbook, so finding an outdated edition will save you a lot of money without cheating you in the quality department.

This book helps with both learning the parts of speech and diagramming sentences. If you're looking for something in depth but not overly confusing, this is probably a good pick. I kept my copy from 2009 and still go to it from time to time.

JSDR · Aug 26, 2011

Damn, that book is expensive. But, as someone once said in a thread I can't remember the name of, One of the best things you can invest in is your craft.

I'm a student and unemployed, so I have to rely on booksales at the local library (Can't beat $1 per non-fiction book). Might not be the most recent edition or funnest copy to read, but that's an option.

To answer "Does a novelist who wants to make a living out of writing have to know all about the technicalities of grammar? Or is it just good enough to understand grammar by using it well and understanding it properly?":

I'd compare it to having a samurai sword. You can cut up a watermelon just fine if you never get any instruction. But you'd be much more lethal if you actually knew how to use it.

Lil · Aug 26, 2011

Sometimes you will be writing a sentence and not know what is grammatically correct. Something sounds wrong, and you don't know why. If you don't know what the technicalities are, you won't be able to figure it out. Of course, you could always rewrite the sentence, but that isn't going to keep you from worrying.

Incidentally, a lot of the punctuation questions people have arise because they don't know the technicalities and are trying to punctuate using the UH method — ie, if you would pause when speaking, put in a comma.

Maryn · Aug 26, 2011

I'm away from home and can't check the edition, but I like The St. Martin's Handbook by Lunsford. Current edition = pricey, but older editions are correspondingly cheap and will serve you just fine.

It helps to know the terms of writing mechanics in order to teach someone in, for instance, a critique, or answering a question on this board. If you know a restrictive appositive from a gerund from a comma splice, you can teach it to somebody who's screwing up, and they can use the term to seek more information and examples online.

Maryn, who didn't learn a lot of the proper terms until late in the game

Chase · Aug 26, 2011

JSDR said:
I'd compare it to having a samurai sword. You can cut up a watermelon just fine if you never get any instruction. But you'd be much more lethal if you actually knew how to use it.

Excellent analogy.

Putting a comma where you'd pause during speech is only a ragged temporary bandage for whatever part you cut off mishandling your sword. It only works until it doesn't.

I learned passable grammar by reading and paying attention to how it was written long before going to college and grad school to learn more about it. I still need my old copy of Hodge's Harbrace Handbook right beside my computer.

Shadow_Ferret · Aug 26, 2011

I remember reading somewhere that any good 7th Grade grammar book should help. They're written at a level that's easy enough to understand yet generally give a thorough treatment of the subject.

Susan Coffin · Aug 26, 2011

Good old fashioned textbooks are awesome!

One I liked when I was in college was The Little Brown Handbook, which is now online with quizzes, tutorials, and other little tidbits.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 27, 2011

The best grammar book I've found is whatever grammar book your local seventh grade school uses.

Too many grammar books are dense, complicated, and muddy the waters with incomprehensible layout and examples. A seventh grade grammar book contains all the grammar the average writer will ever need, and then some. It covers every area you mention, and more.

B.D. Eyeslie · Sep 5, 2011

The Glamour of Grammar by Roy Peter Clark is wicked good.

Improving my grammar?

hollyfan

Chris1981

Just Another Transman

JSDR

wants moar baddassery.

Lil

Maryn

Baaa!

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester

Susan Coffin

Tell it like it Is

Jamesaritchie

B.D. Eyeslie