Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of gritty crime dramas about murder, mystery, and family. And he also writes nonfiction books including the No Mistakes Careers series as well as books about grammar and publishing. When Giacomo isn’t writing, he’s helping his wife take care of the animals on their sanctuary. At last count they had forty animals—seven dogs, one horse, six cats, and twenty-five pigs. Oh, and one crazy—and very large—wild boar, who takes walks with Giacomo every day and happens to also be his best buddy. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #434343; -webkit-text-stroke: #434343} p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 12.0px Times; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 14.0px} span.s1 {font-kerning: none; background-color: #fefefe} span.s2 {font-kerning: none; color: #257fad; background-color: #fefefe; -webkit-text-stroke: 0px #257fad} span.s3 {text-decoration: underline ; font-kerning: none; color: #519548; -webkit-text-stroke: 0px #519548} span.s4 {font-kerning: none; color: #434343; background-color: #fefefe; -webkit-text-stroke: 0px #434343} span.s5 {font-kerning: none}

Guaranteed Not to Be Confusing Don't Ever Be Confused by Grammar Again. Take a "bite" out of Grammar with No Mistakes Grammar Bites. It seems as if many dictionaries and books on grammar do their best to confuse people. Words and explanations are defined using grammatical terminology that is difficult to understand; in fact, if you knew that terminology, you probably wouldn't have to look up the words to begin with. We're aiming to get rid of that and explain things in plain English, using language that is easy to understand. Try it out and see for yourself. If you find these books confusing, write to me and get a refund; they're guaranteed.

Guaranteed Not to Be Confusing Don't Ever Be Confused by Grammar Again. Take a "bite" out of Grammar with No Mistakes Grammar Bites. It seems as if many dictionaries and books on grammar do their best to confuse people. Words and explanations are defined using grammatical terminology that is difficult to understand; in fact, if you knew that terminology, you probably wouldn't have to look up the words to begin with. We're aiming to get rid of that and explain things in plain English, using language that is easy to understand. Try it out and see for yourself. If you find these books confusing, write to me and get a refund; they're guaranteed.

Writing rules have been around for almost as long as writers, and people have been breaking those rules for almost as long. I don't believe in rules, though I do think a few guidelines are good. The guidelines in this book don't guarantee a best seller, but if you follow them, I think you'll have a book that makes an interesting read.

Does the world need another grammar book? I think so. And it needs one because many of the existing books are filled with explanations using grammatical terms that many people don't understand, and the people who do understand don't need the book. Like all my grammar books, I have done everything possible to explain things clearly and without resorting to grammatical terms or complex explanations. Everything is in plain, simple English. Items covered in the book include: * Parts of Speech * Punctuation (all fourteen of them) * Grammar Myths * Miscellaneous * How to Use Numbers When Writing * Abbreviations, Initialisms, and Acronyms * Linking Verbs * Subject/Verb Agreement * Latin Abbreviations * (much more) * Plurals * Redundancies * Misused Words * Capitalization * Usage Issues * Punctuation of Dialogue With more than nine hundred pages, the book is a comprehensive reference for grammar. It also shows many of the issues where the AP Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style disagree. The most important thing is that the book explains everything in plain English so as not to be confusing. It is easy to understand and grasp for any reader. Only a basic understanding of grammar is necessary.

The overuse of capitalization is rampant, and it’s getting worse. People tend to capitalize when emphasizing a point or because they think the word is important and deserves to be capitalized. I looked up the following words in numerous dictionaries, and none were listed. • Southern California • Southern Italy • West Texas • Texas Hill Country • Eastern Kentucky The proper nouns—California, Italy, Texas, and Kentucky—should be capitalized, but what about southern, eastern, west, and hill country? Or how about the words below? Is it . . . • French fries or french fries? • cheddar cheese or Cheddar cheese? • Chianti or chianti? • cabernet sauvignon or Cabernet Sauvignon? • Brussels sprouts or brussels sprouts? You may be surprised at some of the answers you’ll find. Dictionaries may not list these words, and style guides avoid specifics. The good news is when using this book, you won’t have to wonder again. The book covers geographical locations, compass points, religious deities, topographical locations, streets and roads, buildings, animal breeds (including dogs, cats, horses, cattle, donkeys, goats, sheep, and poultry), titles, academic degrees and courses, wine varietals, food groups, acronyms, eponyms, dialogue, brand names, titles of books, other works of art, and more. What do you do when the word you’re looking up isn’t in the dictionary and isn’t covered by your style guide? Check How to Capitalize Anything.

Grammar consists of many things, and one of the more important is punctuation. It is like the Rosetta Stone, providing the key to how writers want a reader to interpret what they wrote. Punctuation is even present when we speak. A slight pause is similar to a comma, a longer pause akin to a semicolon, and a stop equals a period. Question marks and exclamation points can be heard in the cadence of a person’s speech pattern and where the emphasis is placed and on which words. Almost all punctuation marks are represented in everyday speech, and therein lies the key to great dialogue—knowing how to use punctuation correctly with dialogue. There are some writers who are masters at it. Elmore Leonard was one of the best. Read his books, or listen to a few of the movies made from his books, and you’ll see a genius’s work. This book explains how to use punctuation in an easy-to-grasp manner.