Correct English

How to speak and write with complete confidence, and express yourself clearly.

Designed to help resolve most common English language problems and queries, this book has an accessible reference format with examples and explanations of mistakes regarding sentence construction, spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Speak and write English as if it were your native tongue! Are you tired of making the same mistakes in English again and again? End the bad habits that can leave the people you talk to confused. Correct Your English Errors warns you of hundreds of typical errors learners make and explains the reasons behind the mistakes, so you can correct yourself in the future. Improve your English skills with this fun and comprehensive guide and avoid all the common mistakes, such as: Mispronouncing and misspelling words Applying your native language's grammar patterns to English Putting verbs in the wrong tense Using incorrect prepositions in expressions Confusing subject-verb agreement Correct Your English Errors offers exercises covering all parts of grammar and provides review passages to check that you are error-free. Soon, biting your nails will be your only bad habit!

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A sharp, funny grammar guide they’ll actually want to read, from Random House’s longtime copy chief and one of Twitter’s leading language gurus NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY O: The Oprah Magazine • Paste • Shelf Awareness “Essential (and delightful!)”—People We all write, all the time: books, blogs, emails. Lots and lots of emails. And we all want to write better. Benjamin Dreyer is here to help. As Random House’s copy chief, Dreyer has upheld the standards of the legendary publisher for more than two decades. He is beloved by authors and editors alike—not to mention his followers on social media—for deconstructing the English language with playful erudition. Now he distills everything he has learned from the myriad books he has copyedited and overseen into a useful guide not just for writers but for everyone who wants to put their best prose foot forward. As authoritative as it is amusing, Dreyer’s English offers lessons on punctuation, from the underloved semicolon to the enigmatic en dash; the rules and nonrules of grammar, including why it’s OK to begin a sentence with “And” or “But” and to confidently split an infinitive; and why it’s best to avoid the doldrums of the Wan Intensifiers and Throat Clearers, including “very,” “rather,” “of course,” and the dreaded “actually.” Dreyer will let you know whether “alright” is all right (sometimes) and even help you brush up on your spelling—though, as he notes, “The problem with mnemonic devices is that I can never remember them.” And yes: “Only godless savages eschew the series comma.” Chockful of advice, insider wisdom, and fun facts, this book will prove to be invaluable to everyone who wants to shore up their writing skills, mandatory for people who spend their time editing and shaping other people’s prose, and—perhaps best of all—an utter treat for anyone who simply revels in language. Praise for Dreyer’s English “Playful, smart, self-conscious, and personal . . . One encounters wisdom and good sense on nearly every page of Dreyer’s English.”—The Wall Street Journal “Destined to become a classic.”—The Millions “Dreyer can help you . . . with tips on punctuation and spelling. . . . Even better: He’ll entertain you while he’s at it.”—Newsday

Correct English Usage is a unique and peerless book for those who are interested in having a written and spoken command of the English language. The fascination of this international language is unmatched. But it is replete with pitfalls which must be carefully avoided if one does not want to become a butt of laughter either in written or spoken English. Let us quote from the book itself, “A student of the English language ought to know the difference between ‘English’ and ‘the English’.” This book is a treasure house of modern and current usage in English. As one flips through the pages of the book, one gains in knowledge and confidence. The mystery of the English language unfolds itself in every page of this wonderful treatise.

First published in 1991. Debates about the state and status of the English language are rarely debates about language alone. Closely linked to the question, what is proper English? is another, more significant social question: who are the proper English? The texts in this book have been selected to illustrate the process by which particular forms of English usage are erected and validated as correct and standard. At the same time, the texts demonstrate how a certain group of people, and certain sets of cultural practices are privileged as correct, standard and central. Covering a period of three hundred years, these writers, who include Locke, Swift, Webster, James, Newbolt and Marenbon, wrestle with questions of language change and decay, correct and incorrect usage, what to prescribe and proscribe. Reread in the light of recent debates about cultural identity - how is it constructed and maintained? what are its effects? - these texts clearly demonstrate the formative roles of race, class and gender in the construction of proper ‘Englishness' . Tony Crowley's introductory material breaks new ground in rescuing these texts from the academic backwater of the 'history of the language' and in reasserting the central role of language in history.