Making Sense: The Glamorous Story of English Grammar

In Making Sense, David Crystal confronts the foe of many: grammar. Once taught relentlessly to all students in the English-speaking world, grammar disappeared from most school curricula, so that terms such as "preposition" and "conjunction" now often confound children and adults alike.

Explaining the nuts and bolts of grammar presents a special challenge, because - far more than is the case with spelling and punctuation - the subject is burdened with a centuries-old history of educational practice that many will recall as anything but glamorous. One of the world's foremost authorities on the English language, Crystal sets out to rid grammar of its undeserved reputation as a dry and intimidating subject, pointing out how essential grammar is to clear and effective speech and writing. He moves briskly through the stages by which children acquire grammar, along the way demystifying grammar's rules and irregularities and showing us how to navigate its snares and pitfalls. He offers the fascinating history of grammar, explaining how it has evolved from the first grammarians in ancient Greece to our 21st century digital environment of blogging, emailing, and texting.

Many find grammar to be a daunting subject, but in this breezy, entertaining book, Crystal proves that grammar doesn't need to make us uneasy-we can all make sense of how we make sense.

• Making a Point: The Persnickety Story of English Punctuation
• Understanding English Grammar (10th Edition)
• Spell It Out: The Curious, Enthralling, and Extraordinary Story of English Spelling
• Away with Words: An Irreverent Tour Through the World of Pun Competitions
• Vulgar Tongues: An Alternative History of English Slang
• How to Not Write Bad: The Most Common Writing Problems and the Best Ways to Avoid Them
• The Story of Be: A Verb's-Eye View of the English Language
• Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process
• Word on the Street: Debunking the Myth of "Pure" Standard English
• Several Short Sentences About Writing