Offers ESL students an overview of the fundamentals of the English language, with information on usage, grammar, verb tenses, sentence elements, and parts of speech.

Looking for an easy-to-use guide to English grammar? This handy introduction covers all the basics of the subject, using a simple and straightforward style. Students will find the book's step-by-step approach easy to follow and be encouraged by its non-technical language. Requiring no prior knowledge of English grammar, the information is presented in small steps, with objective techniques to help readers apply concepts. With clear explanations and well chosen examples, the book gives students the tools to understand the mysteries of English grammar as well as the perfect foundation from which to move on to more advanced topics.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • For anyone who wants to learn a foreign language, this is the method that will finally make the words stick. “A brilliant and thoroughly modern guide to learning new languages.”—Gary Marcus, cognitive psychologist and author of the New York Times bestseller Guitar Zero At thirty years old, Gabriel Wyner speaks six languages fluently. He didn’t learn them in school—who does? Rather, he learned them in the past few years, working on his own and practicing on the subway, using simple techniques and free online resources—and here he wants to show others what he’s discovered. Starting with pronunciation, you’ll learn how to rewire your ears and turn foreign sounds into familiar sounds. You’ll retrain your tongue to produce those sounds accurately, using tricks from opera singers and actors. Next, you’ll begin to tackle words, and connect sounds and spellings to imagery rather than translations, which will enable you to think in a foreign language. And with the help of sophisticated spaced-repetition techniques, you’ll be able to memorize hundreds of words a month in minutes every day. This is brain hacking at its most exciting, taking what we know about neuroscience and linguistics and using it to create the most efficient and enjoyable way to learn a foreign language in the spare minutes of your day.

All important English skills: capitalization, punctuation, and all eight parts of speech. Table Of Contents BEGINNING ASSESSMENT TEST CAPITALIZATION I & First Words Proper Nouns Proper Adjectives Review PUNCTUATION Ending Marks & Sentences Commas: Dates & Addresses Commas: Introductory Words & Phrases Commas: Nouns of Address Commas: Words in a Series Commas: Commas & Quotations Commas: Compound Sentences Commas: Appositives Commas: Quotation Marks Apostrophes Review NOUNS Person, Place, or Thing Common & Proper Nouns Singular & Plural Nouns Concrete & Abstract Nouns Review PRONOUNS Taking the Place of a Noun Possessive Pronouns Pronouns & Contractions Subject & Object Pronouns Review VERBS Action Verbs Linking Verbs Tense Irregular Verbs Spelling Rules Subject-Verb Agreement Helping Verbs Past Participles Review ADJECTIVES Definition Articles & Possessives Proper Adjectives Demonstrative Adjectives Comparative Adjectives Special Adjectives Review ADVERBS Definition -ly Adverbs Comparative Adverbs Good-Well & Bad-Badly Review PREPOSITIONS Definition Object of the Preposition Prepositional Phrases Prepositional Phrases as Modifiers Review CONJUNCTIONS Coordinating Conjunctions Correlative Conjunctions Subordinating Conjunctions Review INTERJECTIONS Definition Review FINAL ASSESSMENT TEST ANSWERS.

English Grammar: The Basics offers a clear, non-jargonistic introduction to English grammar and its place in society. Rather than taking a prescriptive approach, this book helps the reader become aware of the social implications of choices they make to use standard or non-standard (regional/dialect) forms. Readers will consider: • what grammar is and how it fits into the structure of language; • how grammar functions in the school curriculum, the press, broadcasting and social media, as well as how these outlets reflect and reinforce our attitudes towards grammar; • differences between speech and writing, as well as between formality and informality; • major different approaches to theorising and describing grammar from important grammarians, including Noam Chomsky and Michael Halliday. Featuring a glossary of key terms and practical tips and insights from the author's 50+ years of language teaching experience around the world, this book is for anyone who has ever found themselves questioning the ‘rules’ of the English language.

A survey of the quirks and quandaries of the English language, focusing on our strange and wonderful grammar Why do we say “I am reading a catalog” instead of “I read a catalog”? Why do we say “do” at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and more, Our Magnificent Bastard Language distills hundreds of years of fascinating lore into one lively history. Covering such turning points as the little-known Celtic and Welsh influences on English, the impact of the Viking raids and the Norman Conquest, and the Germanic invasions that started it all during the fifth century ad, John McWhorter narrates this colorful evolution with vigor. Drawing on revolutionary genetic and linguistic research as well as a cache of remarkable trivia about the origins of English words and syntax patterns, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue ultimately demonstrates the arbitrary, maddening nature of English— and its ironic simplicity due to its role as a streamlined lingua franca during the early formation of Britain. This is the book that language aficionados worldwide have been waiting for (and no, it’s not a sin to end a sentence with a preposition).

Includes sections on structure, verbs, vocabulary, idioms, reading and listening comprehension, writing, and Hispanic culture.