Product Description

The Penguin Guide to Punctuation is indispensable for anyone who needs to get to grips with using punctuation in their written work. Whether you are puzzled by colons and semicolons, unsure of where commas should go or baffled by apostrophes, this jargon-free, succinct guide is for you.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4862 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

From the Publisher

A sample extract:

THE APOSTROPHE

5.2 Unusual Plurals

As a general rule, we never use an apostrophe in writing plural forms. (A plural form is one that denotes more than one of something.) Hence the things that those shops are selling are pizzas, videos, fine wines, cream teas, and mountain bikes. It is absolutely wrong to write pizza's, video's, fine wine's, cream tea's, and mountain bike's if you merely want to talk about more than one pizza or video or whatever. The same goes even when you want to pluralize a proper name:

She's trying to keep up with the Joneses.

There are four Steves and three Julies in my class.

Several of the Eleanor Crosses are still standing today.

Do not write things like Jones's, Steve's, Julie's or Eleanor Cross's if you are merely talking about more than one person or thing with that name.

About the Author
R L Trask has taught in the School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences at the University of Sussex since 1988. He is the author of a number of books, including A DICTIONARY OF GRAMMATICAL TERMS IN LINGUISTICS, LANGUAGE CHANGE, LANGUAGE: THE BASICS, A DICTIONARY OF PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY, HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS and THE HISTORY OF BASQUE.

Customer Reviews

The best guide
The best guide to punctuation available. I'd read a number of guides to this subject and I still wasn't completely clear on some points until I came across this excellent book. It's crystal clear and very easy to read and use. I wish this had been the first punctuation guide I'd read: I would have saved myself both time and money. The book covers a number of areas that I didn't expect but found very useful, such as referencing and how to lay out reports.

I've since read a number of R.L. Trask's books and they're all outstanding. 'Language: The Basics' is brilliant. He's a truly talented writer and communicator. I wish more academics could write and explain ideas like Mr Trask.

The single most helpful reference book on English punctuation and related topics
As a native German and long-time anglophile I had been looking for something like this for ages. The author manages to convey his insights without any hint of intellectual stiffness or arrogance. At the same time one gets the impression he knows what he is talking about. But he is not dogmatic, either. He will freely acknowledge when his view differs from, say, common usage at publishing houses.
At the end of each chapter, there is a summary of the most important/basic rules for quick reference.
The "Penguin Guide to Punctuation" is highly informative as well as fun to read. Language scholarship at its best put to practical use. Highly recommended.

Nice book to learn or 're-learn' your punctuation...
This is a nice little book to get you started or even refresh your memory on correct punctuation. It's a nice and easy book to read through and, though a mere 160 pages or so, very comprehensive, covering all you will need to know about punctuation. I've just quickly read through it today, but will read through it in more detail at my leisure in the hope of purging some of my many bad writing habits. Recommended.