Date:    Fri, 20 Mar 1998 12:18:17 -0500
<br>From:    Beverly Flanigan  flanigan[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]OAK.CATS.OHIOU.EDU 
<br>Subject: Re: seeking textbook advice
<br>
<br>I too received a copy of the Barry book, and it looks very good as a
<br>textbook (suggested for a one-semester class in brush-up grammar).  It
<br>incorporates concepts of constituent categories and hierarchical structure
<br>(helpful for consciousness-raising, for ESL learners too), but it also
<br>acknowledges variation: on reflexives, for ex., 'hisself' and 'theirselves'
<br>"are stigmatized forms, but you certainly can't fault their logic!" (p.
<br>87).  However, I'd guess the original correspondent wants his son to learn
<br>standard (written) _usage_, not grammar per se; and in that case, Strunk
<br>and White is concise and direct.  I doubt that the son would wade through
<br>Barry, or the various and wonderful books by Greenbaum et al.--unfortunately!
<br>
<br>
<br>At 11:37 AM 3/20/98 -0500, you wrote:
<br> I just received Anita K. Barry's English Grammar: Language as Human
<br> Behavior (Prentice hall, 1998) and it looks like it might fit the bill.
<br> Its chapters read "What are Nouns," What are prepositions," etc., and
<br> each chapter contains practice exercises. On Thu, 19 Mar 1998, Bethany K.
<br> Dumas wrote:
<br> 
<br>   Mark, the very best thing I know is the little Strunk and White _Elements
<br>   of Style_, now in its 15th+ edition -- 16th, maybe. It is invaluable in
<br>   situations like your correspondent described. It's short, simple, easy to
<br>   use, not fussy. No theory, just practical advice.
<br>  
<br>   Second best: The _Texas Style Manual_ (approximate title), a tiny book,
<br>   used often by law reviews. Similar to above, a little fussier.
<br>  
<br>   If others know of other resources, I would like to know about them.
<br>  
<br>   Bethany
<br>  
<br> 
<br>