Most often we are judged by our language and misjudged because of the common errors in our language. A person interacting with you for the first time does mind your language and your language does make a favourable or unfavourable impression on the person and it does account for your success or failure in any attempt you make to achieve something. In fact, no great people of the world would have been great if they had not had the language they had. Unlike other books on common errors, the errors in this book have not been categorized into different chapters based on grammar.

Online version of Common Errors in English Usage written by Paul Brians.

Discover an easy way to polish up your English with this guide to avoiding common mistakes people make when writing and speaking. Good news—you’re definitely not the only person who struggles to keep “who” and “whom,” “affect” and “effect,” or “lay” and “lie” straight. Bad news: Frequent grammatical errors can affect (not effect) your success at work and in other areas of life. This comprehensive, easy-to-use reference is a program designed to help you identify and correct the most common errors in written and spoken English. After a short, simple review of some basic principles, When Bad Grammar Happens to Good People is organized by error type, such as Mangled Modifiers or Mixing up Words that Sound the Same. You choose how to work your way through, either sequentially or in the order most relevant to you. Each unit contains tests at the end to help you reinforce what you’ve learned. Best of all, the information is presented in a clear, lively, and conversational style—unlike your eighth-grade grammar textbook!

This book analyzes the errors most commonly made in spoken and written English and presents them in a systematic, down-to-earth manner. It does not dictate grammar to the reader; rather, it presents the guidelines for English usage currently being observed by the most competent and careful speakers and writers. The most troublesome words and phrases—as well as grammatical terms—are listed alphabetically within 18 subject areas to enable the reader to check quickly on questions of usage. In each case, illustrative examples are given, and the guiding principle is stated for the reader to follow in avoiding the mistake and others similar to it. An extensive index for additional ease of reference helps make this book a handy tool for the modern reader who realizes that mere knowledge is no longer sufficient—that one must be able to express his knowledge clearly, forcefully, and correctly.

This is a single reference point to look up all manner of spelling, grammar or punctuation queries.