Grammar Book Review: Grammar Done Right

Based on the cover of Grammar Done Right, which shows the words Grammar Done “Good” and “Well,” with those adjectives crossed out, I expected a humorous, lighthearted look at grammar. Compared to other titles written in the same style, however, Grammar Done Right falls short in the humor department. If you’re expecting “wit and wisdom,” you’ll find plenty of wisdom, but the book doesn’t exactly keep you up until all hours perusing its laugh-out-loud anecdotes. It is, however, a comprehensive yet tiny desk reference guide to grammar.

On her website, author Karen L. Reddick notes: “No lecturing or using silly examples that won’t stick; you’ll find helpful tips and techniques written in a clear, concise manner.” This is absolutely true.

I love reading grammar books because I inevitably learn something new or a rule I’d forgotten because I rarely use it. Good grammar books give me new fodder to use in this blog, and make me look smart to friends and family (or, more likely, it just makes me look like even more of a geek). I’m sure I’ll be referring to this book many times in the next few months.

Reddick describes hard-to-explain concepts in easy-to-understand terms. For instance, how do you figure out which order to place adjective in a sentence? Most long-time writers intuitively know we would write, “silly old bear” as opposed to “old, silly bear.” (And if we used the second version, it would require a comma between the adjectives.) But Reddick actually knows WHY — and explains it well, er, good, um right, no–that would be “well.”

The book also excels at explaining parts of speech. Reddick’s technique of using straightforward examples — although it won’t make anyone laugh out loud — works well without distracting from the point.

Some Eye-Openers

A few rules actually sent me to the Internet and other style books because I couldn’t believe they were true. For instance, did you know that you use an apostrophe when you add an “s” to a word to form the plural of a word referring to the word itself? Want me to say that again?

“There are no if’s, and’s, or but’s to it.”

At least, according to the book’s author, that’s correct. The Chicago Manual of Style feels differently. According to the Chicago Manual of Style, “ifs, ands or buts” should be written with no apostrophes.

But the Chicago Manual also promotes the use of “dos and don’ts,” and I firmly believe it is more readable to write: “do’s and don’ts,” also accepted by many authoritative sources. (Interestingly, the spellchecker in Open Office agrees with the Chicago Manual, which makes me, a new convert to the open source software, wonder what Word would say.)

“Fun to Read”

The last section of the book, in my opinion, was the most fun to read, with more than 20 pages regarding “style and usage.” This section included my favorite aspect of grammar — misused words – and other helpful tips, including explanations of metaphors, similes and oxymorons.

If you’re looking for a straightforward grammar resource that’s small enough to keep on your desk and easy to use, this is a good book to add to your bookshelf. I’d also recommend it for beginning writers, VAs, and anyone who needs to improve their business writing skills. I’m definitely going to suggest Grammar Done Right to a few friends–and I’m sure they know who they are!