 Best Sellers | |
Home The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation: An Easy-to-Use Guide with Clear Rules, Real-World Examples, and Reproducible Quizzes | |
|  | |  | | | The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation: An Easy-to-Use Guide with Clear Rules, Real-World Examples, and Reproducible Quizzes | | | | | | | |
List Price:
| $14.95 | |
Our Price:
| $9.00 | |
You Save:
| $5.95 (40%)
| | Shipping: | Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | |
*Shipping:
| |
| | | SKU:
8310378 | | In Stock | | Availability:
Usually ships in 1 business days | | |
|
| | Product Promotions | | |
| | Description | The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation is filled with easy-to-understand rules,real-world examples, dozens of reproducible exercises, and pre- and post-tests.This handy workbook is ideal for teachers, students in middle school through college, ESL students, homeschoolers, and professionals. Valuable for anyone who takes tests or writes reports, letters, Web pages, e-mails, or blogs, The Blue Book offers instant answers to everyday English usage questions. | |
| | Product Details | | Author: | Jane Straus | | Paperback: | 176 pages | | Publisher: | Jossey-Bass | | Publication Date: | December 14, 2007 | | Language: | English | | ISBN: | 0470222689 | | Product Length: | 8.5 inches | | Product Width: | 0.28 inches | | Product Height: | 11.0 inches | | Product Weight: | 1.08 pounds | | Package Length: | 10.7 inches | | Package Width: | 8.4 inches | | Package Height: | 0.5 inches | | Package Weight: | 1.1 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 66 reviews |
| |
| | Used and New |
| All | |
| $7.49+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Acceptable | | | $8.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Acceptable | | | $8.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $8.44+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $8.46+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $8.62+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $8.64+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $8.78+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $8.79+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $9.00+ $3.99 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $9.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $9.36+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $9.54+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $9.55+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $9.58+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $9.71+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $9.85+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $9.85+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $9.97+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $9.97+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $9.99+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $9.99+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $10.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $10.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $10.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $10.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $10.10+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $10.26+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.13+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.13+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.16+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.18+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.20+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.34+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.41+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.44+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.45+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.47+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.56+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.61+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.64+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.71+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.75+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.81+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $11.95+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.95+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.96+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.99+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $12.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $12.04+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $12.15+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $12.27+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $12.35+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $12.48+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $12.63+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $12.66+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $13.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $13.02+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $13.25+ $3.99 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- VeryGood | | | $13.55+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $13.60+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $13.60+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $13.97+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $14.30+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $14.50+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $14.88+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $14.95+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $14.95+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $14.95+ $7.98 *Shipping | New | | | $14.95+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $14.95+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $15.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $15.17+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $15.30+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $15.37+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $16.38+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $16.70+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $17.66+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $17.84+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $20.70+ $4.65 *Shipping | New | | | $21.32+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $21.52+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $21.79+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $21.83+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $22.52+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $29.64+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $34.58+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $35.02+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $35.26+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $35.99+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $46.94+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $149.50+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $250.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $888.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | |
| New | |
| $8.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $8.46+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $8.78+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $8.79+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $9.00+ $3.99 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $9.54+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $9.55+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $9.71+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $9.85+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $9.97+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $9.99+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $10.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $10.10+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $10.26+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.13+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.20+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.34+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.41+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.56+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.61+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.64+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.71+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.75+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.95+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $11.96+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $12.04+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $12.15+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $12.27+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $12.35+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $12.48+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $12.63+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $12.66+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $13.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $13.55+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $13.60+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $13.97+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $14.30+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $14.50+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $14.88+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $14.95+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $14.95+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $14.95+ $7.98 *Shipping | New | | | $14.95+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $14.95+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $15.30+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $15.37+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $16.38+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $16.70+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $17.66+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $17.84+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $20.70+ $4.65 *Shipping | New | | | $21.52+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $21.83+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $29.64+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $34.58+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $35.02+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $35.26+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $46.94+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | | | $888.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | New | |
| Used | |
| $7.49+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Acceptable | | | $8.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Acceptable | | | $8.44+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $8.62+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $8.64+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $9.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $9.36+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $9.58+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $9.85+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $9.97+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $9.99+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $10.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $10.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $10.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.13+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.16+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.18+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.44+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.45+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.47+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.81+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $11.95+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.99+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $12.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $13.02+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $13.25+ $3.99 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- VeryGood | | | $13.60+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $15.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $15.17+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $21.32+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $21.79+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $22.52+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $35.99+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $149.50+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $250.00+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Good | |
| |
| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review: ( 66 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
635 of 681 found the following review helpful:
 Full of errors and omissions Jan 07, 2008
By Concerned
I have been an English professor for fifteen years, and my advice is that people interested in improving their grammar find a better book than this one. It is full of errors. I care very much about getting students to write and speak properly (for many it's a key to success), and that's why I am so disappointed in this book. (By the way, I have not written any book that competes with this one for your dollars.) Better material is available free of charge on the internet.
I will list some errors below, all found in the very first section of the book, and you will note that in all the canned testimonials that appear on this site, not one of my statements will be refuted. Instead, you will hear about how this book "answered all of my questions" or "helped me land my dream job" or "turned my company around," etc. Nonsense.
ERROR 1: On page 2 we are told, "A subject will come before a phrase beginning with 'of'." This is simply not a rule; subjects often follow "of". Consider this sentence: "Hoping to win the respect of her employer, Sandra learned to speak fluent English." The subject, Sandra, comes after a phrase beginning with "of" ("of her employer"), not before one. Someone who followed the rule in the book might falsely conclude that "respect" is the subject, as it comes before "of".
ERROR 2: There are grammar and punctuation errors in the writing itself. On page 1 we read, "Being able to identify the subject and verb correctly will also help you with commas and semicolons as you will see later." It is certainly odd that a sentence about proper punctuation should itself include a punctuation error; a mandatory comma has been omitted between "semicolons" and "as."
ERROR 3: On page 2 we are told, most unhelpfully, "To find the subject and verb, always find the verb first." (This is like a recipe that says, "To bake a cake and make frosting for it, first bake the cake," and leaves its instructions on cake-baking at that.) Once you find the verb, the book continues, "Then ask who or what performed the verb." This sloppy wording is almost bound to cause confusion. Consider this sentence: "In spite of the bad instructions, the error was found by the student." The verb is "was found," and the student did the finding. It would be natural to suppose, then, that the student "performed the verb" and thus is the subject. The subject, however, is "the error," not "the student".
All of these problems (and others I have not mentioned) are found on the first two pages of the book.
Please note that no one promoting this book will defend the idea that subjects must precede phrases beginning with "of," or that finding "who performed the verb" gives students enough to go on to determine the subject, or that the author makes no punctuation errors of her own in the book. They as good as admit that some of the rules in the book are wrong, that the explanations are inadequate, and that the author makes punctuation errors. So one wonders what might motivate these people to endorse the book. As for my motive, it is this: concern for students who will be (and have been) misled by this faulty product.
The previous edition used crucial terms that it did not bother to define--like "direct object," "object of the preposition," and even "preposition" itself.
Imagine a grammar book that leaves students in the dark about the meaning of the word "preposition," and you have some idea of what this book is like.
As for crucial grammatical elements like transitive verbs, the subjunctive, linking verbs, helping verbs--they were not even mentioned. Will anyone step forward and say, "In this edition, 'preposition' is defined and transitive verbs are discussed"? Of course not.
This book omits even very basic material, and, what is worse, much of what it does say is misleadingly phrased or just plain wrong. You can do better.
112 of 119 found the following review helpful:
Lesson Planning Nightmare! Feb 23, 2008
By ESLegant
I was going to use this book to plan lessons for my ESL class, but it's bad to almost a weird extent. For example, everyone else in the world talks about "subordinate clauses" and "independent clauses." This strange book uses the terms "weak clauses" and "strong clauses" instead. If your students are going to have to take standardized tests, stay away from this book! No test will ask them what a "weak clause" is--there is no such thing! Why not use the terms students will be asked about, or the terms used in other books they will study?
Then there are things that are even odder: made up rules that are not true. The book says, for example, "do not use a comma when the sentence starts with a strong clause followed by a weak clause." So, according to the book, the following is correct: "I was persuaded by my friends to buy the book although my teacher said it was bad." But that's absolutely wrong. There has to be a comma between "book" and "although". ("Although" begins a subordinate clause--or "weak clause" in the private lingo of this book.) I couldn't believe my eyes! Then I see that the author of the book actually obeys this non-rule and leaves commas out all over the place in the lessons.
So I went to the author's website (where all the rules in the book are available for free, anyway, so why buy it?) and found the following comments in the author's "Grammar Blog" for 2/12/08: "Thanks to Shawna L. for pointing out that the third example in my last newsletter had an error," and "Thanks to Kathy D. for pointing my sloppy grammar." What kind of grammar teacher needs students to point out his or her own grammatical errors? At least my visit to the site cleared up the mystery of this book. The author just doesn't know too much about grammar.
57 of 60 found the following review helpful:
Not a comprehensive grammar reference Sep 14, 2009
By Jamie
I bought this hoping for a grammar reference that was as comprehensive as The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. I was very disappointed. It is 75 pages of rules (many erroneous based on the other reviews, which I wish I'd read prior to purchasing) followed by 78 pages of quizzes and answers. There is no index. The lack of an index makes it particularly ineffective as a reference.
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
Full of errors and poor writing; one of those "I'm on the Internet, so I can declare myself an expert" messes Nov 24, 2011
By S. McCandlish
"Webmaster, pool instructor, anthropologist by training, activist, tech & PR consultant"
Other reviewers have given examples, so I don't need to repeat that process. I just want to observe that is a book written by a "life coach" (one of those pseudo-professions, like being a feng shui "expert", a "psychic" or an aroma "therapist") and a blogger (like, well, almost everyone over the age of 12 these days). She is not a best-selling author, a professional editor, an English language professor, or any other sort of well-qualified person to write a book on English grammar. Anyone can write a book about anything, and (with luck, contact-networking and perseverance) get it published, but that doesn't mean it will be worth reading. On a technical topic like linguistics, failure to have both an applicable edu-professional background and the experience in the field to be authoritative is generally a shortcut to disaster. I'm not even a Fowlerian traditionalist when it comes to grammar - I applaud efforts by the Chicago editors, Burchfield (Oxford), and others to be more descriptive and modern, and less prescriptive and stodgy, in updated editions of their popular style guides - but some of what Straus advises is simply nonsense. This book and the associated website betray a deep-seated absorption of lazy habits (e.g., pretending that commas don't serve a purpose) from high-speed, low-thought writing on the Internet and in text messaging. While online communication has, for around two years of actual public impact, has an influence on modern grammar, it is a rash mistake to import expedient practices from the register of informal e-chat into planned writing. This even applies to blogging; writing an essay is still writing an essay, regardless of whether your fingers are pushing electrons through circuits or ink onto paper.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Written by an amateur Jan 24, 2012
By Reader-Writer
I'm a writer, editor, and writing teacher. I've never considered myself a grammarian, but I'm pretty good at recognizing what's correct and what's not. I currently teach a grammar course at a community college and have been looking for good grammar books. I bought this on Amazon for two reasons: low cost and high rating. I should have looked at the unusual number of single-star reviews. You get what you pay for. Even upon quick review, I found numerous errors and just plain bad advice. Here are a few examples:
COLONS
In her section on colons, the author implies that there are only two occasions to use the colon: when lists follow independent clauses and when sentences are joined without a coordinating conjunction, as long as the second sentence "explains or illustrates the first sentence." This is bad advice! First, what follows a colon most certainly does not have to be a complete sentence: a phrase or clause will do. Yet she doesn't have a so-called "rule" for this very common use of the colon! Here's one example of a colon construction that she completely ignores:
He was greeted by a horrible sight: a dead dog on his doorstep.
Furthermore, she instructs the reader to "use a colon instead of a semicolon" when the the second sentence "explains or clarifies" the first, yet in her examples,a semicolon would be entirely acceptable, or even preferable! This is totally misleading and just plain bad advice.
Her Examples:
I enjoy reading: novels by Kurt Vonnegut are among my favorites.
Garlic is used in Italian cooking: it greatly enhances the flavor of pasta dishes.
In each case, the semicolon would be a perfectly good punctuation choice, yet she has instructed the reader not to use it! Her examples are simply not exemplary; they are not illustrative of ideal use. Instead, try this:
Of all the authors I admire, one stands out as my favorite: Kurt Vonnegut.
The key to Italian cooking is garlic: it greatly enhances the flavor of pasta dishes.
The point is that colons, when used correctly, create suspense and excitement in writing. There is a kind of pregnant pause after the colon in which the reader, with bated breath, awaits the answer. The fact that the writer is not aware of this is a dead giveaway of her lack of expertise.
COMMAS AND SEMICOLONS
In Rule 21, she writes, "Use either a comma or a semicolon before introductory words such as namely, that is, i.e., for example .... when they are followed by a series of items." This is not correct! She just made this up! She cites the following examples as being correct:
You may be required to bring many items, e.g., sleeping bags, pans, and warm clothing.
You may be required to bring many items; e.g., sleeping bags, pans, and warm clothing.
I have never come across a single grammar or style book that allows a semicolon to be used to join an independent clause with a simple list. When it is used in conjunction with a list, its sole purpose is to separate items with internal punctuation. This is just bizarre.
Because it has been so difficult to find a good, inexpensive grammar textbook, I felt I had write this review for everyone else like me who's out there.
See all 66 customer reviews on Amazon.com
| |
| |
| |  | |  |
|
Recently Viewed INFO LIBRARY your place to search for information! In InfoLibrary.com you’ll find:Detailed info on research and references for anything of educational or recreational interest. Search for informational how to videos and entertainment media. Info on State Public Libraries and foreign Libraries. Search local, federal and state Public Records including mortgages, property records, criminal records, civil court filings, sex offenders, birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, unclaimed property, professional licenses, genealogy, and more. Search info and buy reference material on world and national literature of any written subject or work of art. Browse for info on any books, text books, authors, manuals, reference material, videos, self-help, entertainment, history, sports, food, jobs, cinema, homework help, etc. Find latest info on state by state Colleges and Universities in the United States. Search Info Library to and get the latest music or video of your favorite movie or recording artist. Find great deals and discounts on books, manuals and informational material through the site. Use our Info Library Search Engine tool to locate detailed and specific information on your subject of interest. Easily find most popular books and best sellers. Info Library is your best place to find information, knowledge and know-how on any subject, interest, or field of study. Visit InfoLibrary.com: Your site for info, education, knowledge and wisdom at you fingertips! Info Library: Your information search website!
| You may also like ... |
