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gaeta
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« on: March 12, 2008, 03:00:36 PM » |
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My question is somewhat inspired by this thread: http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,47770.15.htmlI work in the humanities and am quite familiar with many grammar guides/reference books in the Romance languages but am not as familiar with similar books about English. Although I somewhat know The Little, Brown Handbook, I would love to have some other suggestions for English grammar guides. I should say that I will not be using such a book in a class but rather as a reference work to have on hand in my own personal library. I don't need exercises or advice about how to write a research paper (things that appear in Little, Brown) but would like all kinds of nitty gritty grammar details. Thanks for your help! |
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Vox clamantis in deserto.
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ursula
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« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2008, 03:43:21 PM » |
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I thought this was going to be a thread with lots of fun questions about subjunctives and prepositions, so we could show off our grammar geekiness!
pout.
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"Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair."
Jack Layton, 1950-2011
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gaeta
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« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2008, 03:46:32 PM » |
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I thought this was going to be a thread with lots of fun questions about subjunctives and prepositions, so we could show off our grammar geekiness!
pout.
I would have no problem if you were to take it in that direction as well. The subjunctive makes me happy. |
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Vox clamantis in deserto.
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t_folk
Your mom's a
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 1,230
Put silk on a goat, and it's still a goat.
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« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2008, 04:56:15 PM » |
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Strunk and White is my Bible.
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When you pissed yourself in Frankfurt and got syph down in Cologne
And you heard the rattling death trains as you lay there all alone
Frank Ryan bought you whiskey in a brothel in Madrid
And you decked some fvcking blackshirt who was cursing all the Yids.
- Sick Bed of Cuchulain POGUES
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phdbliss
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« Reply #4 on: March 12, 2008, 05:42:05 PM » |
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Pleonastic nouns anyone? Telicity? Modality? Aktionsarten? Come on!
I'm with Ursula - this should be a geeky thread.
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magistra
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« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2008, 06:51:57 PM » |
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Well, come on then! Sigh. It's sad how excited I was to see the subject line...
As to your question, I find that modern grammars suck. Absolutely suck. They're usually descriptive and user-friendly, meaning they're written for high school students and don't bother with niceties like "whom" anymore, because who says that? But if you want to know what's correct, what was common usage until a few years ago, what's standard so you can compare it to other languages, etc., an older grammar is the way to go. Pretty much anything written at least 40 years ago will work -- student editions from the time they took this stuff seriously in school are great. I've got a couple I picked up dirt cheap.
I like this one, as it was originally written for advanced students, so it's still fairly user-friendly, and should be available in some edition.
House, H. C. & S. E. Harman. 1931. Descriptive English Grammar, New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
A nice big old expensive one I like is Samuel Ramsey's 1892 The English Language and English Grammar. It set me straight on some of the more obscure points of the subjunctive, but which had legitimately come up in my Latin class. You're lucky if you find the subjunctive in a modern grammar.
Go to your school's library and browse -- it's the best way to see a range of grammars. Some are much too much, but some are much too flimsy.
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First it was Wolfram and Hart, now it's Blackboard. There's not much moral difference, if you ask me. -- Malcha
Grammar is the chocolate in the buttery croissant of life. -- Yellowtractor
Okay, so that was petty. Today, I feel like embracing pettiness. -- Mended Drum
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erictho
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« Reply #6 on: March 12, 2008, 06:58:03 PM » |
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My Grammar Geek hubby says these two are his favourites:
Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, Huddlestone and Pullum
Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language Kuirk, Greenbaum, Leech and Svartvik
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Damnit, people, spread the word about responsible pet ownership.
erictho speaks the truth
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jonesey
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« Reply #7 on: March 12, 2008, 07:03:10 PM » |
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Strunk and White is my Bible.
x2. <Geek Alert!> I met my wife at a writing conference where the Illustrated Strunk and White was being discussed. |
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Jonesey, I know you're a being of sensitivity and refinement. |
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magistra
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« Reply #8 on: March 12, 2008, 08:39:47 PM » |
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Jonesey -- You're not a true grammar geek until you've met at the Strunk & White opera. Though it's a good effort -- you're geeky by normal standards, just not ours. We have very high standards indeed when it comes to Grammar Geekdom!
Erichtho -- I'll have to check those out. I always say, one can never have too many grammars...
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First it was Wolfram and Hart, now it's Blackboard. There's not much moral difference, if you ask me. -- Malcha
Grammar is the chocolate in the buttery croissant of life. -- Yellowtractor
Okay, so that was petty. Today, I feel like embracing pettiness. -- Mended Drum
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comp_queen
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« Reply #9 on: March 12, 2008, 09:32:15 PM » |
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Talking of geekiness and handbooks (this will out me if a certain few people are reading, but I doubt it):
I own editions 4 through 6 of the MLA handbook--4 I bought in high school, 5 in college, and 6 a couple years ago when stuff I'd done so often I'd memorized was in conflict with the new information in the MLA section of my students' handbooks.
I strongly desire to get editions 1-3 (normal paperback, not the dopey-looking spiral bound ones if they did them then) so I can have a complete set.
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I hateseses powerpointseses
accreditation better be worth it!
"How...the bolt of our fate slides home." ~Thomas Harris |
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gaeta
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« Reply #10 on: March 12, 2008, 10:23:32 PM » |
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There are some great suggestions here!
I have a copy of Strunk and White by my side at all times but was looking for some hardcore and even arcane suggestions such as those offered by grammarians such as Erictho['s hubby] and Magistra. I don't know if I should be thanking you or cursing you for recommending some very expensive books that I now feel must have a place on my shelves. I will definitely be taking a trip to my library's reference room to investigate further.
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Vox clamantis in deserto.
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jonesey
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« Reply #11 on: March 13, 2008, 07:11:48 AM » |
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I'm surprised nobody suggested Eats, Shoots and Leaves.
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Jonesey, I know you're a being of sensitivity and refinement. |
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bibliothecula
Academic ronin
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 3,907
like Bunnicula, only with books
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« Reply #12 on: March 13, 2008, 08:35:37 AM » |
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I'm surprised nobody suggested Eats, Shoots and Leaves.
That's because it is filled with typos and outright errors. |
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I came. I saw. I cited.
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jonesey
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« Reply #13 on: March 13, 2008, 10:19:04 AM » |
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I'm surprised nobody suggested Eats, Shoots and Leaves.
That's because it is filled with typos and outright errors. Really? To be honest, I've never read it, but once people find out what I do for a living it's one of the first books they suggest. Is it really that bad? |
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Jonesey, I know you're a being of sensitivity and refinement. |
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scarletbegonia
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« Reply #14 on: March 13, 2008, 10:46:34 AM » |
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How about Barbara Wallraff's books? Anyone read any of those?
I haven't read her books, but her column is one of my favorites to read each week. I think of her as the Miss Manners of Grammar.
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