|
Welcome to your GrammarBook.com e-newsletter.
|
I purchased a copy of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation knowing that it contains an abundance of quizzes that are reproducible. I use them often in my English class.
—Christy M.
I appreciate GrammarBook.com. It's really the best grammar website out there. The explanations for the answers to the quizzes are very helpful.
—Suzy H.
I receive your newsletters with appreciation and great relief, knowing that there are still people in the world who love the English language and rules of grammar.
—Janet W.
|
|
|
Graphic Ignorance
TV networks’ graphics departments have long been out of control with
their intrusive cluelessness.
After 9/11, many cable channels initiated a constant “crawl” of
news at the bottom of the screen. The spellbinding stream of words, slow
and endless, is perversely distracting.
But if you run a news channel, shouldn’t credibility be a
front-burner concern? Shaky language skills for all to see raise serious
questions about your standards and practices. Are you stupid, or do you
just think we are? Who put manic ignoramuses in charge of your graphics
department?
The examples that follow all happened in recent months:
• An ABC affiliate, thinking mischievous has four syllables,
spelled it “mischievious.” Another ABC graphic said,
“Wake Forrest,” then proved it was no fluke with
“Angeles National Forrest.”
• An NBC affiliate came up with “To good to be true.”
We’re still taught about to, too, and two,
aren’t we? Maybe it was Bring Your First-Grader to Work Day.
• PBS is “TV for smart people,” but misspelling your
guests’ names isn’t smart. The network fecklessly spelled
veteran comic actor Dan Aykroyd’s name “Ackroyd.”
• Fox News Channel, not to be outdone, displayed “Kyber
Pass” for hours. This strategic mountain pass, a key supply route for
U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, is spelled “Khyber.” Look,
you don’t guess at stuff like this. You have to look it up.
Fox also fell into a common trap with “wrecking
havoc”—the proper phrase is wreaking havoc. And Fox
embarrassed itself with “embarassed.” In “alledged
embassy bomber,” it earned an F by adding a second d to alleged. A superfluous i in “How has the president
faired?” meant fare thee well, credibility.
• CNN joined the party with “theif” and “Iranian
peoples’ belief.” Put that apostrophe where it belongs, would
you? And CNN might have won the knucklehead sweepstakes with this bizarre
bulletin: “Houses OKs climate change.” Where do you begin with
that one? It’s an inspired fusion of horrid grammar and utter
meaninglessness.
Why do TV networks, some of them scrutinized around the world, undermine
themselves with sloppy grammar, spelling, and punctuation? What unholy mix
of arrogance, recklessness, and cynicism is at work when words onscreen,
the touchstone of a TV network’s fundamental competence, are put in
the care of buffoons?
Because of the e-newsletter’s large readership, please submit your comments or questions regarding today's (or any past) article through GrammarBook.com’s Grammar Blog
|
|
Free BONUS Quiz for You!
[[firstname]], because you are a subscriber to the newsletter, you get access to one of the Subscribers-Only Quizzes. Click here to take an Apostrophes Quiz and get your scores and explanations instantly!
More Good News for Quiz Subscribers
We are pleased to announce that we have added even more quizzes to help you challenge yourself, your students, and your staff. We added quizzes to existing categories and created some new categories such as “Vocabulary,” “Spelling,” “Confusing Verbs,” “Subjunctive Mood,” “Comprise,” and “Sit vs. Set vs. Sat.”
We reviewed and strengthened every quiz on our website to ensure consistency with the rules and guidelines contained in our eleventh edition of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation.
If you think you have found an error in a quiz, please email us at help@grammarbook.com.
“GrammarBook's subscription quizzes opened a new door for me, a way to see exactly who is doing the work and who isn’t, and it is very convenient for the students.”
“So convenient … hundreds of quizzes in one click.”
[[firstname]], Subscribe to receive hundreds of English usage quizzes not found anywhere else!
- Take the quizzes online or download and copy them.
- Get scored instantly.
- Find explanations for every quiz answer.
- Reproduce the quizzes to your heart’s content.
- EASY to use.
- No software to download.
- No setup time.
- A real person to help you if you have any questions!
Instructors and Employers: we make your life easier!
- Assign quizzes to your students or employees.
- Students log in from anywhere.
- Scores are tallied and compiled for you.
- You decide whether to let students see their own scores and quiz explanations.
- Let GrammarBook.com take the hassle out of teaching English!
“Fun to test my skills!”
“The explanations really help … thanks!”
Your choice: Subscribe at the $29.95 or $99.95 level ($30 off - previously $129.95).
“I download the quizzes for my students who don’t have computer access.”
Subscribe today to receive hundreds of English usage quizzes not found anywhere else!
“Makes learning English FUN!”
 |
Don’t need all the quizzes at once?
You can now purchase the same quizzes individually for ONLY 99¢ each. Purchase yours here. |
Get Yours Today!
Get Amazon’s No. 1 Best-seller in Four Categories!
No. 1 in Grammar
No. 1 in Reading
No. 1 in Lesson Planning
No. 1 in Vocabulary |
The Blue Book of Grammar
and Punctuation
by Jane Straus, Lester Kaufman, and Tom Stern
The Authority on English Grammar!
Eleventh Edition Now Available
Have You Ordered Your Copy Yet?
An indispensable tool for busy professionals, teachers, students, homeschool families, editors, writers, and proofreaders.
Available in print AND as an e-Book! Over 2,000 copies are purchased every month!
Order Your Copy Today!
- Hundreds of Grammar, Punctuation, Capitalization, and Usage Rules
- Real-World Examples
- Spelling / Vocabulary / Confusing Words
- Quizzes with Answers
The publisher of The Blue Book, Jossey-Bass, A Wiley brand, is offering a 35 percent discount for those of you who order the book through Wiley.com. Shipping and tax are not included. Simply go to bit.ly/1996hkA and use discount code E9X4A.
*Offer expires December 31, 2017.
|
Wordplay
Speaking of meaninglessness. . .
Learn all about who and whom, affect and effect, subjects and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and much more by just sitting back and enjoying these easy-to-follow lessons. Tell your colleagues (and boss), children, teachers, and friends. Click here to watch. |
