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Everyday Grammar Made Easy: A Quick Review of What You Forgot You Knew (Volume 1)
For both adults and students who want to brush up on their grammar, this easy-to-understand and intuitively designed handbook teaches crucial grammar principles using real-life examples.
With Everyday Grammar Made Easy, confidently apply perfect grammar usage by learning:
Correct verb agreements
Appropriate pronoun use
Common grammar pitfalls
Common spelling mistakes
And more
Begin with a quick review of basic grammar concepts, then take a deeper dive into various parts of speech and the underlying principles that guide how the different grammar parts work together, and, finally, explore common grammar and spelling pitfalls, complete with right and wrong examples. Turn to the back of the book for a glossary of grammar terms, verb guides, and useful grammar resources.
With an encouraging tone to support you as you learn, sidebars to highlight important points and answer common questions, and helpful tables throughout, impeccable grammar is within your reach.
Build your grammar skills and confidence, and develop a passion for learning more!
Get a quick review of everything you forgot you knew with the Everyday Learning series from Wellfleet Press. Need a refresher course in topics like grammar and math? Then let these handy reference books be your sidekicks on your journey to higher learning. You’ll learn about timeless global topics, as well as the thought leaders responsible for some of the greatest contributions in the worlds of science, art, and more. Packed with useful information, these portable books are perfect for commuters who want to jump-start their day with useful and fun facts. With the Everyday Learning series, you’ll be an expert in any field in no time.
Other titles in this series include: Everyday Economics Made Easy, Everyday Mathematics Made Easy, Everyday Philosophy Made Easy, and Everyday Spanish Made Easy.
With Everyday Grammar Made Easy, confidently apply perfect grammar usage by learning:
Correct verb agreements
Appropriate pronoun use
Common grammar pitfalls
Common spelling mistakes
And more
Begin with a quick review of basic grammar concepts, then take a deeper dive into various parts of speech and the underlying principles that guide how the different grammar parts work together, and, finally, explore common grammar and spelling pitfalls, complete with right and wrong examples. Turn to the back of the book for a glossary of grammar terms, verb guides, and useful grammar resources.
With an encouraging tone to support you as you learn, sidebars to highlight important points and answer common questions, and helpful tables throughout, impeccable grammar is within your reach.
Build your grammar skills and confidence, and develop a passion for learning more!
Get a quick review of everything you forgot you knew with the Everyday Learning series from Wellfleet Press. Need a refresher course in topics like grammar and math? Then let these handy reference books be your sidekicks on your journey to higher learning. You’ll learn about timeless global topics, as well as the thought leaders responsible for some of the greatest contributions in the worlds of science, art, and more. Packed with useful information, these portable books are perfect for commuters who want to jump-start their day with useful and fun facts. With the Everyday Learning series, you’ll be an expert in any field in no time.
Other titles in this series include: Everyday Economics Made Easy, Everyday Mathematics Made Easy, Everyday Philosophy Made Easy, and Everyday Spanish Made Easy.
- GenresNonfictionWriting
160 pages, Hardcover
Published August 24, 2021
About the author
Rod Mebane
6 books1 followerRod Mebane is known for his ability to simplify complex things and to present them in compelling ways. In 1993, for example, Rod teamed with his Spanish professor to produce an ingeniously designed text, called Más Fácil, to contain the complete rules of Spanish grammar in less than 100 pages. Más Fácil (1993) initially launched as a Prentice-Hall textbook, but it has recently been refreshed & released to the general public as
Más Fácil 2nd Ed
(2021). To round out this new edition, Rod completed a grammar reference for the English language, called
Everyday Grammar Made Easy
(2021), published by Wellfleet Press.
In general, exceptional analytical and presentation skills have served Rod well in his career – one that is anchored by a number of significant positions, including university treasurer (SMU, in Dallas), foundation director (MacArthur), chief learning officer (BDO USA), and consulting partner (St. Charles). Along this trek, grounded in degrees from Swarthmore College and UPenn’s Annenberg School, Rod sharply honed his communication knowledge and skill. He now offers a variety of communication support services to individuals and organizations under the banner of Wordsmith Associates.
As a master wordsmith, Rod helps clients realize their authoring goals, enabling them to “tell their stories” in a variety of meaningful and enduring ways. His own published work spans the fields of education, professional development, social service, and investment & finance. Rod’s current development focus is on the power of human resilience. With that in sight, he recently co-founded Resilience Land – a “resource-full” environment where people can explore key dimensions of resilience and find tools that help create resilience-building strategies, for themselves or their organizations.
Rod lives with his wife Donna and blind-dog Willie in Geneva, Illinois, a far-west suburb of Chicago. When pursuing avocational interests, Rod can be found carving wood, championing honeybees, and nurturing his family tree.
In general, exceptional analytical and presentation skills have served Rod well in his career – one that is anchored by a number of significant positions, including university treasurer (SMU, in Dallas), foundation director (MacArthur), chief learning officer (BDO USA), and consulting partner (St. Charles). Along this trek, grounded in degrees from Swarthmore College and UPenn’s Annenberg School, Rod sharply honed his communication knowledge and skill. He now offers a variety of communication support services to individuals and organizations under the banner of Wordsmith Associates.
As a master wordsmith, Rod helps clients realize their authoring goals, enabling them to “tell their stories” in a variety of meaningful and enduring ways. His own published work spans the fields of education, professional development, social service, and investment & finance. Rod’s current development focus is on the power of human resilience. With that in sight, he recently co-founded Resilience Land – a “resource-full” environment where people can explore key dimensions of resilience and find tools that help create resilience-building strategies, for themselves or their organizations.
Rod lives with his wife Donna and blind-dog Willie in Geneva, Illinois, a far-west suburb of Chicago. When pursuing avocational interests, Rod can be found carving wood, championing honeybees, and nurturing his family tree.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 25, 2021
I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.
Everyday Grammar made easy is a fantastic book to have at home for numerous occasions and is really helpful and informative as well as easy to follow and understand.
Each page is set out nicely and in a simple but enjoyable way too.
I've managed to refresh my grammar skills reading this and will definitely get a paper copy at some point for future reference.
Everyday Grammar made easy is a fantastic book to have at home for numerous occasions and is really helpful and informative as well as easy to follow and understand.
Each page is set out nicely and in a simple but enjoyable way too.
I've managed to refresh my grammar skills reading this and will definitely get a paper copy at some point for future reference.
September 20, 2021
Everyday Grammar Made Easy is a great resource to have on hand for anyone. I loved how easy it was to understand. It had an example of every kind of grammatical error and how to fix it. The handbook also goes in depth with what different forms of grammar there are and how to properly use them, It was a nice refresher course in the writing skills we learned in school and it also pointed out things I didn't know. I highly recommend Everyday Grammar Made Easy! Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book! (This review is also on GoodReads.)
August 23, 2021
Everyday Grammar Made Easy is a well-organised and informative guide for those looking to improve their grammar or reinforce what they already know with regard to the topic. Many people, even with an abundant supply of language sources, are not completely confident in their English language skills, and that is where this book comes in. If you count yourself as one of those who could benefit from some everyday grammar improvement, this book will help you reach that goal. It is structured to reinforce your foundational understanding of grammar, spark your curiosity and solidify your confidence.
It approaches the subject from the top and presents a common big-picture overview before moving to establish a foundation for organising and understanding the minute details that make up the world of grammar. It is not a one-stop-shop as there are simply too many rules to fit into one book, but it does create a framework for mastering basic grammar principles. If you are new to learning grammar in a serious way, this handy little guide will help you systematically build your knowledge. If you are experienced with grammar but merely need a refresher, it also works as an excellent reference resource. Highly recommended.
It approaches the subject from the top and presents a common big-picture overview before moving to establish a foundation for organising and understanding the minute details that make up the world of grammar. It is not a one-stop-shop as there are simply too many rules to fit into one book, but it does create a framework for mastering basic grammar principles. If you are new to learning grammar in a serious way, this handy little guide will help you systematically build your knowledge. If you are experienced with grammar but merely need a refresher, it also works as an excellent reference resource. Highly recommended.
August 19, 2021
Are you someone who never got a formal education in grammar? Are you an author or someone else who has to write a whole heck of a lot and worry about your lack of grammatical knowledge hinders your ability to communicate effectively? Do you want to spend less on copy editing? Then Everyday Grammar Made Easy might help.
So this book is what it says on the tin. It's a guide to the basics of grammar that often feels like an extended vocabulary lesson rather than an actual education. The knowledge imparted is old school and skewed toward the University of Chicago school of grammar. Which is fine, but it may contradict some things if your workplace/employer uses the AP style guide.
The book is also old school in how it approaches gender. While it acknowledges that there are people tho use the singular they, the book doesn't get into neo-pronouns (Xhe. e, ir, etc.) which okay... but it would help to acknowledge that language is evolving and new words come into existence including those referring to gender. Especially since figuring out proper verb tense is a thing. In a way, I feel like this was a missed opportunity and perpetuates the falsity of a gender binary.
As an editor with 25 years of experience, this book was a little elementary for me. I was also very lucky that the school systems I attended gave me a very solid foundation in grammar.-- complete with the knowledge of how to diagram a sentence. But my experience is not a universal experience, and most people I know don't understand how to use the subjunctive (Thank you, Spanish!) or how to punctuate a parenthetical. That said, it does cover a few areas that often trip up less formally educated writers. Things like when to use I or Me in the predicate or subject-verb agreement. I did like that there was a chart at the back of the book that provided an easy reference guide on how to conjugate irregular verbs. But at the same time, I didn't love the long hard to read list of regular verbs. It didn't feel necessary.
The book was laid out in a logical fashion, and it did what it said it was going to do... it explained the basics of grammar. And while it did cover some of the most common pitfalls, it didn't go into other areas where people struggle... like how to punctuate dependent clauses, prepositional phrases, and how to tell if information is important to a sentence or extraneous (which is a common issue I run into when copy editing). For instance, it covered what to do punctuation wise if you start a sentence with a subordinating conjunction (since, because, as, etc.) but not what to do if the subordinating conjunction is use in the middle or at the end of a sentence. I felt like it was missing things. Like the order of adjectives, how to identify and correct misplaced modifiers, how to identify a prepositional phrase vs. a dependent clause vs an independent clause, etc. Things that would have helped nervous writers avoid some common pitfalls.
But it isn't a bad book.I would likely recommend it to people who really never got the basics of English grammar or for people who are ESL and want to have a name for a lot of the terminology. But I feel it is important to note that this book doesn't go into everything and is more clearly geared for non-fiction/essay writing rather than fiction writing.
Ultimately, I feel that this book deserves...
Four Stars.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley.
So this book is what it says on the tin. It's a guide to the basics of grammar that often feels like an extended vocabulary lesson rather than an actual education. The knowledge imparted is old school and skewed toward the University of Chicago school of grammar. Which is fine, but it may contradict some things if your workplace/employer uses the AP style guide.
The book is also old school in how it approaches gender. While it acknowledges that there are people tho use the singular they, the book doesn't get into neo-pronouns (Xhe. e, ir, etc.) which okay... but it would help to acknowledge that language is evolving and new words come into existence including those referring to gender. Especially since figuring out proper verb tense is a thing. In a way, I feel like this was a missed opportunity and perpetuates the falsity of a gender binary.
As an editor with 25 years of experience, this book was a little elementary for me. I was also very lucky that the school systems I attended gave me a very solid foundation in grammar.-- complete with the knowledge of how to diagram a sentence. But my experience is not a universal experience, and most people I know don't understand how to use the subjunctive (Thank you, Spanish!) or how to punctuate a parenthetical. That said, it does cover a few areas that often trip up less formally educated writers. Things like when to use I or Me in the predicate or subject-verb agreement. I did like that there was a chart at the back of the book that provided an easy reference guide on how to conjugate irregular verbs. But at the same time, I didn't love the long hard to read list of regular verbs. It didn't feel necessary.
The book was laid out in a logical fashion, and it did what it said it was going to do... it explained the basics of grammar. And while it did cover some of the most common pitfalls, it didn't go into other areas where people struggle... like how to punctuate dependent clauses, prepositional phrases, and how to tell if information is important to a sentence or extraneous (which is a common issue I run into when copy editing). For instance, it covered what to do punctuation wise if you start a sentence with a subordinating conjunction (since, because, as, etc.) but not what to do if the subordinating conjunction is use in the middle or at the end of a sentence. I felt like it was missing things. Like the order of adjectives, how to identify and correct misplaced modifiers, how to identify a prepositional phrase vs. a dependent clause vs an independent clause, etc. Things that would have helped nervous writers avoid some common pitfalls.
But it isn't a bad book.I would likely recommend it to people who really never got the basics of English grammar or for people who are ESL and want to have a name for a lot of the terminology. But I feel it is important to note that this book doesn't go into everything and is more clearly geared for non-fiction/essay writing rather than fiction writing.
Ultimately, I feel that this book deserves...
Four Stars.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley.
July 23, 2021
A huge thanks to Netgalley and Wellfleet Press for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4.5/5⭐
Synopsis: A handbook for quick grammar reference. For adults and for students. This book is for everyone. People who want a quick refresher on English grammar and also for people who want to learn the basics of English grammar. The book is divided into three parts and I found that to be really resourceful. In the first part, we get to quickly go over the fundamentals of grammar, moving on to the second part, we focus on individual topics in depth with real life examples to better understand the topics and the third and final part of the book deals with common pitfalls and mistakes we make in our everyday usage of the language.
Review: This book is exactly what I've been looking for. For the past few months, I've had this thought of refreshing my knowledge of basic English grammar rules and when I saw this title on Netgalley, I just couldn't resist it. I had high expectations diving into the book and I have to say, this book didn't disappoint at all. It covers most of the topics in English grammar and contains answers to almost all of your questions. It can be your offline reference guide that you can carry around or have in your home library.
It is written in an easy-to-understand way with plenty of beautiful illustrations. With well structured content and all the important points highlighted, this book can be your quick reference guide while writing. It has adequate explanation on each topic to help you better grasp the subject. This book not only helps you improve your writing skills but by improving your grammar helps your improve your communication skills as well.
After reading this book you'll have the grammar proficiency of a high school graduate. The tables and glossary in the appendix is really helpful in finding topics and understanding basic grammar words.
I would definitely recommend this book to everyone who wants to inprove their English grammar.
Rating: 4.5/5⭐
Synopsis: A handbook for quick grammar reference. For adults and for students. This book is for everyone. People who want a quick refresher on English grammar and also for people who want to learn the basics of English grammar. The book is divided into three parts and I found that to be really resourceful. In the first part, we get to quickly go over the fundamentals of grammar, moving on to the second part, we focus on individual topics in depth with real life examples to better understand the topics and the third and final part of the book deals with common pitfalls and mistakes we make in our everyday usage of the language.
Review: This book is exactly what I've been looking for. For the past few months, I've had this thought of refreshing my knowledge of basic English grammar rules and when I saw this title on Netgalley, I just couldn't resist it. I had high expectations diving into the book and I have to say, this book didn't disappoint at all. It covers most of the topics in English grammar and contains answers to almost all of your questions. It can be your offline reference guide that you can carry around or have in your home library.
It is written in an easy-to-understand way with plenty of beautiful illustrations. With well structured content and all the important points highlighted, this book can be your quick reference guide while writing. It has adequate explanation on each topic to help you better grasp the subject. This book not only helps you improve your writing skills but by improving your grammar helps your improve your communication skills as well.
After reading this book you'll have the grammar proficiency of a high school graduate. The tables and glossary in the appendix is really helpful in finding topics and understanding basic grammar words.
I would definitely recommend this book to everyone who wants to inprove their English grammar.
July 23, 2021
Thanks to NetGalley.com for a review copy of Rob Mebane's book. I struggled with my rating because, as a lingiust, I know that the response that I have to books about grammar is likely going to be very different from the response the average reader will have. Here is my concern and why the book earned three stars from me rather than five: the book assats that it will focus on implicit knowledge of language (suggested by the subtitle), but the book is a traditional school grammar that still presents a very prescriptive point of view.
Mebane's treatment of articles (what linguists call determiners) and compound verbs obscures rather than clarifies. Although the way he presents these two categories is consistent with foreign language grammars, it isn't necessarily helpful for a native speaker who is trying to improve her mastery of grammatical concepts.
I was hoping that this text might be a good reference grammar for my students, but I'm not sure it would help them. Worse, I think it might reify their negative attitudes toward speakers non-standard varieties. Although Mebane does deal with variation when he talks about pronoun reference and they/them as a singular, but he doesn't mention dialect variation elsewhere.
Mebane's treatment of articles (what linguists call determiners) and compound verbs obscures rather than clarifies. Although the way he presents these two categories is consistent with foreign language grammars, it isn't necessarily helpful for a native speaker who is trying to improve her mastery of grammatical concepts.
I was hoping that this text might be a good reference grammar for my students, but I'm not sure it would help them. Worse, I think it might reify their negative attitudes toward speakers non-standard varieties. Although Mebane does deal with variation when he talks about pronoun reference and they/them as a singular, but he doesn't mention dialect variation elsewhere.
July 7, 2021
I was granted eARC access to Everyday Grammar Made Easy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book looks like an excellent quick reference sort of resource for those who have questions about basic grammar while writing and want to be able to find reliable answers all in one offline location. I can imagine this in printed form now on thick, glossy paper and it looks impressive! I do wish the eARC file had been delivered in single page view so I could convert to mobi and send it to my reader, and I imagine this will be a very handy eBook to have around as well if that option is offered.
The grammar rules covered will bring any user up to a high school graduate's level of proficiency quite quickly. Figures and examples are clear and presented in a visually pleasing way. The table of contents and index are well organized and detailed and will make finding specific items quick and easy.
I must comment that the section on pronouns only uses they/them in the plural and refers to "it" as a personal pronoun. These rules are fairly standard in MLA grammar rules and "personal" in this case does not necessarily only refer to humans, but these details are outdated. "It" should never be used to refer to a person, which is how the section implies it should be used. Singular "they" has been an acceptable part of the English language since the 14th century, used by the likes of Shakespeare and Chaucer, and predates the singular "you."
This book looks like an excellent quick reference sort of resource for those who have questions about basic grammar while writing and want to be able to find reliable answers all in one offline location. I can imagine this in printed form now on thick, glossy paper and it looks impressive! I do wish the eARC file had been delivered in single page view so I could convert to mobi and send it to my reader, and I imagine this will be a very handy eBook to have around as well if that option is offered.
The grammar rules covered will bring any user up to a high school graduate's level of proficiency quite quickly. Figures and examples are clear and presented in a visually pleasing way. The table of contents and index are well organized and detailed and will make finding specific items quick and easy.
I must comment that the section on pronouns only uses they/them in the plural and refers to "it" as a personal pronoun. These rules are fairly standard in MLA grammar rules and "personal" in this case does not necessarily only refer to humans, but these details are outdated. "It" should never be used to refer to a person, which is how the section implies it should be used. Singular "they" has been an acceptable part of the English language since the 14th century, used by the likes of Shakespeare and Chaucer, and predates the singular "you."
July 6, 2021
I am one of those people who care about grammar. Lately, my pet peeve has been that everyone from Prince Harry on down is using the words me and I incorrectly. So, I was excited to see this ARC on grammar, nerdy though that may be. And, yes, attention is given to that very topic in one of the book’s sections.
This title is densely packed with information. Readers who want to learn more about grammar or those who want some tricky questions answered will both find answers within.
Grammar is described by the author as the principles that guide how words work together. If a reader wants to speak or write more effectively, the rules and practices described in this book will be most helpful.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own
This title is densely packed with information. Readers who want to learn more about grammar or those who want some tricky questions answered will both find answers within.
Grammar is described by the author as the principles that guide how words work together. If a reader wants to speak or write more effectively, the rules and practices described in this book will be most helpful.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own
September 1, 2021
As someone who now writes everyday for their job — despite never intending to — this book is a bit of a godsend. It breaks things done into an easy to digest manner, clearing up the mysteries of grammar I never learned ir forgot since highschool.
However, I think this book is better suited to being a physical copy. The book makes great use of colour which would make an evil a waste, and the PDF version is annoying to read as you have to scroll sideways as well as down. This could be easily fixed by making it a single page spread in the PDF, but maybe double check this by getting a sample before you commit to the PDF version!
This will be a handy reference for me going forward though, I’m sure.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
However, I think this book is better suited to being a physical copy. The book makes great use of colour which would make an evil a waste, and the PDF version is annoying to read as you have to scroll sideways as well as down. This could be easily fixed by making it a single page spread in the PDF, but maybe double check this by getting a sample before you commit to the PDF version!
This will be a handy reference for me going forward though, I’m sure.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 26, 2021
I appreciated this book very much. It is a great little resource to have around. I appreciated the grammar refresher. This books is all great stuff we learned in school, but for some of us, it was a very long time ago. If you are looking for a basic grammar refresher, look no further. I do wish Netgalley would have allowed us to read it as a kindle file. It was hard to read on my phone. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.
Want to Read
August 20, 2021Everyday Grammar Made Easy by Rod Mebane.
Great book for children and adults alike, an amazing reference book and as an avid reader and lover of writing this book is really cool.
Thank you to the author, publishers and everyone involved in the making of this book.
I read and give my honest review on Netgalley, Goodreads Librarything, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Great book for children and adults alike, an amazing reference book and as an avid reader and lover of writing this book is really cool.
Thank you to the author, publishers and everyone involved in the making of this book.
I read and give my honest review on Netgalley, Goodreads Librarything, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
December 6, 2021
As an English minor, I can definitely appreciate this book! It’s also very helpful to refresh and brush up on grammar skills. This is also a great book if you are a homeschool teacher and may not feel super strong about your abilities to teach grammar to your kids or other students. Overall, a great book!
August 29, 2021
This grammar book is very clear and easy to follow. I'm still studying it but so far it seems fine to me. It's a small book (176pages) but it goes straight to the point. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review
September 7, 2021
I recently returned to learning and wanted to brush up on my grammar. It is perfect for my needs. This book is an excellent resource, easy to understand, straight to the point without lots of padding.
August 3, 2021
Very useful and easy to follow. I liked the examples and the clarity of the explanations.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
September 10, 2021
Good refresher! Easy to read; well laid-out using colors and fonts to visually explain the useful examples of the concepts. Super useful and will for sure be an oft-used reference for me.
September 16, 2021
Read like a text book and answered my long held questions like when to use who or whom.
March 5, 2023
A easy to follow grammar book
September 15, 2023
Good as a reference.
April 29, 2022
As a homeschooling mom and self-proclaimed grammar nut, this book was a great refresher in the grammar items even I have forgotten. It has also made teaching my son grammar a bit easier.
August 24, 2021
This book is part of the Everyday Learning series, and is a wonderful resource for a comprehensive review of grammar. It is a valuable tool to add to the bookshelf and home office of readers, writers, professionals, and students. It covers all of the components of grammar that someone seeking to gain knowledge on this topic would need. Thanks to Net Galley and Quarto Publishing Group - Wellfleet Press, Wellfleet Press for the advance reader's copy and opportunity to review this book.
#EverydayGrammarMadeEasy #NetGalley
#EverydayGrammarMadeEasy #NetGalley
February 22, 2022
This book is clear and concise. Mebane includes vivid examples to illustrate the points he wishes to convey. I was pleased to discover that I mostly knew the material, though I never knew the names of the twelve tenses of English verbs, and expect to promptly forget them. The discussion of common mistakes was helpful, particularly the distinction between "lay" and "lie."
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews