The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation: An Easy-to-Use Guide with Clear Rules, Real-World Examples, and Reproducible Quizzes

I am having a hard time leaving an actual star review of this book, as the content of the book deserves a 5 star rating, while the organization is not user friendly, and the "quizzes" are very lackluster.In order to receive real quizzes and content, the authors of this book demand that you pay a substantial fee ($30.00 for a limited number of logins - one year or $129.00 unlimited logins - one year) in order to access their subscription area of the website that goes along with this book. This is never mentioned in the description, and I would like those thinking about purchasing this book based on quizzes, tests, and other content to be fully aware of what they are buying (or not buying in this instance).Furthermore, you really do not need to purchase this book unless you would rather have paper in front of you. You are able to go to GrammarBook.com and view this book in its entirety on the website and even take the menial quizzes online if you choose. Just be sure you scroll down BELOW the actually "HEY, BUY ME" stuff to take the free, interactive quizzes. You may also purchase individual quizzes from the subscription service for $1.00 each. This might be beneficial if you do not want to purchase the entire subscription package but want more practice in certain areas that need more work.If you are interested in having the book in front of you, here is a little info on it.The book starts out with an introduction and such, like most books, then leads into the lessons. The lessons are 5 star quality as they are basic, simple to explain, teach and understand. I LOVE THESE LESSONS! One thing I particularly like in the lessons is the "note" section. The authors often keep you up to date with things such as the differences in the acceptable use of the word "none" in the SAT vs. the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage. This is very helpful if you are using this book to help students prepare for the SAT vs. an essay paper for school. The note section will have current information in relation to the English language as well as other things that may enhance the lesson itself. EXCELLENT.After each lesson, I would really like to see worksheets, so students (or those teaching themselves) can practice the skills they just learned. There are none in this book whatsoever. You are able to subscribe for more content, however, as I mentioned above.After each lesson, there is a quiz. I like this feature. There is one con. The quiz is not immediately following the lesson. There is no wording printed to let you know that the quiz is on page "whatever" in the book. You must search toward the back of the book to find the quiz appropriate for that lesson name. The quizzes are also very simplistic. Again, you can subscribe for more content.There is also an answer key provided at the back of the book, but it is not user friendly nor page numbered. You will need to match the lesson name with the quiz name and the answer key name to be able to locate this key in the back of the book.To summarize:PROS: The lessons are fabulous! This will be my go-to book for teaching/tutoring students in grammar and punctuation. You do not have to purchase this book if you would rather learn or teach from the computer/online.CONS: There are no worksheets to practice newly learned skills in this book. The quizzes are very menial (around 10 - 20 questions and only one quiz per lesson). The book is not user friendly, as the quizzes are toward the back of the book, not page numbered to the lesson, and the answer key works the same way. You may purchase a subscription for more workable content and quizzes (which are desperately lacking in the book) if you choose, but it is fairly pricey.

Who knew that I would be so over the top excited to get an english grammar book? I am a very intelligent 51 yr old back in school to bring myself into the 20th century. This book has been a lifesaver. It covers most grammar questions in 2-4 pages with examples. Far easier for me to review or refer to than looking on-line each time. Everyone should have two reference books on hand at home, a dictionary and The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation. No wonder my kids are constantly correcting me! I just bought another copy to give to a young gal in class that is struggling. This will help her for years to come. Honestly, it is a must have.

This book is one of the best I've seen on grammar and here is the best feature:A large portion of this book is dedicated to homonyms - words which sound alike or are spelled alike, but have different meanings.Why is this important? Because these are the words which your auto correction/spelling checker miss - i.e. they are spelled correctly but with the wrong meaning so you end up looking like an idiot.The simplest example is your rushing to finish you're article and you use your & you're incorrectly as I just did. Your spelling checker won't catch that so you better be sharp and use the correct word.Your/You're is an basic example - this book covers many many more plus it covers punctuation etc etc.I'm glad I bought it - I use it about once a week or so.

Why in the world would any American need this? Simple. Dialects, years of not studying, years of becoming comfortable writing in our own style. I like to study English. I was diagnosed with Dyslexia in the 4th grade (mid-80s). It was a point of time that few knew much about Dyslexia. I have since earned two PhDs and a MBA. And I still struggle at times with my grammar. I find that people seem to like to joke about it at my expense. "I can't believe a PhD has to study grammar". Well, I can't believe you made the same mistake 184 times and just did it again but hey, we're human. We can't be perfect and we can't be a master of every subject. Jane Straus' writing style is enjoyable to read and her explanations are very clear. The fun part for me is knowing those who like to pick on the PhD don't realize they're studying from books I had a part in researching. Education and learning is a wonderful thing that we should never believe we have mastered or "learned enough" about. Maybe hard to believe but I have read more of this book and returned to it more times than any book in my Kindle library (over 1,000). That's money well spent and for the author, it's kind of funny to write a review about a grammar book knowing all the mistakes I'm making in the review!

The book is accurate, but absolutely not user friendly... There is barely anything about conjugation and verb tenses for instance. But full pages on semi colons and other characters that you will probably never have to worry about your entire life... I would say this is a book that is not adapted for people who want to really speak English, but maybe for punctuation nerds... After a few lessons, most of the book is alphabetically organized and concerns homonyms or more punctuation. Anyone enjoys reading the dictionnary from A to Z? Not me.

This updated edition of the late Jane Straus's classic is user-friendly. If you are intimidated by the rules of American English grammar and punctuation or have forgotten much of what you learned in school, this is the book for you. While it isn't an in-depth reference for professional writers and copy editors, it is my favorite for finding information quickly. I recommend The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation to high school students, adults whose jobs require good writing, and to writers and copy editors as a supplemental reference.

I should have checked more carefully but didn’t really appreciate that the book and author were American.America seems a proud nation and rightly so, but I wish they would call their language American rather than English, which it is not. In a nutshell, if you want a UK English reference book you need a UK book; personally, I have exchanged this book for a Penguin Guide to Punctuation (Penguin Reference Book). I think the book should have a note that stated that it is aimed at an American speaking audience.I returned the book after finding so many variations. Around a third of the book is devoted to quizzes, not what you want if you want a reference book.

Excellent. All the grammatical and punctuation issues that have been nagging me are clarified, and take solid form through the quizzes.

Wish this had been my first grammar and punctuation book. It provides you with easy to understand rules and guidelines with examples. There are also quizzes with answers that will test your knowledge. This will give you more confidence in your writing. I highly recommended this excellent book.

Easy to read with good examples, exercises and quizzes; a must for the home library for adults and children.

Thank you it helps so much.