English Simplified » (12nd Edition)

English Simplified, 11/e - at only 72 pages - is a concise, inexpensive grammar handbook that continues to provide comprehensive coverage of grammar, punctuation, mechanics, spelling, word choice, and includes tips for ESL writers. The book also offers easy-to-read tables that clarify verb tenses and forms, the latest updates on documentation style, and material on note-taking, source evaluation, and avoiding plagiarism.

I. SENTENCES AND GRAMMAR (Sections 101-130)

101-103 Sentences

101 Parts: A—subject; B—verb (predicate)

102 Sentence pattern

103 Classifying: A—by purpose; B—by structure (clauses)—simple, compound, complex, compound-complex

104-109 Parts of Speech: Survey

104 A—nouns; B—pronouns

105 Verbs

106 A—adjectives; B—adverbs

107 A—conjunctions; B—prepositions

108 interjections

109 A word as different parts of speech

110 A word group as a part of speech

111-112 Using Nouns

111 Kinds: A—singular, plural; B—common, proper; C—concrete, abstract; D—collective; E—count, noncount

112 Uses: A—subject; B—complement (direct, indirect object; subjective, objective complement); C—object of preposition; D—appositive; E—direct address

113-118 Using Verbs

113 Identifying

114 Kinds: A—transitive; B—intransitive; C—linking; D—auxiliary

115 Principal parts: A—present, past, past participle; B—troublesome verbs

116 Tenses, forms: A—present; B—past; C—future; D—present perfect; E—past perfect; F—future perfect; G—conditional

117 Verbs vs. Verbals: A—infinitives; B—participles; C—gerunds

118 Verb errors: A—perfect and passive forms; B—tense shift; B—overused passive voice; C—mood shifts; D—confusion of similar verbs (see also 404)

119-120 Using Adjectives and Adverbs

119 Correct use: A—adverbs with action verbs; modifying adjectives, adverbs; B—adjectives after linking verbs; C—good vs. well, bad vs.badly; D—comparative, superlative; double comparative, superlative; illogical comparisons

120 Articles, determiners [ESL]: A—a vs.an; B—articles before nouns; C—limiting adjectives (determiners); D—order of adjectives

121-123 Using Pronouns

121 Kinds: A—personal (including gender problem); B—interrogative, relative: C—demonstrative; D—indefinite; E—reflexive, intensive

122 Case: A—subjective (nominative); B—objective;C—subjective-objective problems; D—who, whom (interrogative); E—who, whom (relative); F—possessive

123 Faulty reference: A—ambiguous; B—vague

124-125 Phrases, Clauses

124 Phrases: A—prepositional; B—verbal (infinitive, participial, absolute, gerund)

125 Clauses: A—kinds (independent, dependent); B—dependent kinds (adjective, adverb, noun); C—in sentences (simple, compound, complex)

126-127 Agreement

126 Subject-verb: A—person; B—number; C—intervening words; D—compound subjects; E—subjects with not; F—indefinite pronouns; G—collective nouns; H—linking verbs; I—singulars in plural form; J—there and it; K—titles, words as words; L—money and measures; M—relative pronouns

127 Pronoun-antecedent: A—shifts to you; B. singular pronouns; C—and, or, nor; D—collective nouns; E—demonstratives as adjectives; F—one of the

128-130 Effective Sentences

128 Creating sentences: A—varying; B—coordinating; C—compounding; D—subordinating (adjective, adverb, noun clauses); E—reduction; F—parallel structure; G—positioning main idea

129 “Big three” errors: A—fragments; B—comma splices, fused sentences

130 Gaining clarity: A—needless separation; B—misplaced or dangling modifiers (participles, gerunds, clauses, etc.); C—incomplete or illogical comparisons; D—illogical shifts; E—mixed or confused construction (is when, is where, others)

II. PUNCTUATION (Sections 201-227)

201-203 Comma [,]

201 Comma (to set off): A—independent (main) clause; B—introductory clause, phrase; C—items in series; D—coordinate adjectives; E—parenthetical expressions; F—nonessential (nonrestrictive) clauses, phrases, appositives; G—absolute phrases; H—direct address; I—yes, no; J—mild interjections; K—direct quotations; L—such as, etc., contrasts

202 Comma: A—clarity; B—omitted, understood word; C—tag question; D—friendly letter; E—dates, addresses

203 No comma: A—between subject-verb, verb-object; B—between independent clauses; C—if not needed

204-205 Period [.]

204 Period: A—end of sentence; B—abbreviation, initial; C—outline; D—ellipsis, hesitation; E—nonsentence

205 No period after title

206-207 Question Mark [?]

206 Question mark: A—direct question; B—uncertainty

207 No question mark: A—indirect question; B—polite request; C—humor, irony

208-209 Exclamation Point [!]

208 Exclamation point: w. strong interjection

209 No exclamation point: A—mild interjection; B—beyond one

210 Semicolon [;]: A—joining clauses; B—conjunctive adverb; C—clauses, series with commas

211-213 Apostrophe [’]

211 Apostrophe with possessive nouns: A—singular; B—plural; C—before gerund; D—fine points; E—apostrophes and clarity

212 Apostrophe: A—contractions, omissions; B—letters, symbols

213 No apostrophe: A—personal pronouns; B—plurals, verbs; C—inanimate objects

214 Italics (Underlining): A—titles of long works; B—ships, etc.; C—art works; D—foreign words; E—words, etc. as such; F—emphasis

215-219 Quotation Marks [“ ”]

215 Double quotation marks: A—speaker’s words; B—interrupted quotation; C—uninterrupted quotation; D—paragraphs; E—fragmentary quotation; F—omission (ellipsis); G—insertion in quotation; H—dialogue; I—poetry

216 Double quotation marks: A—titles of short works; B—definitions; C—words in special sense

217 Single quotation marks: quotation inside quotation

218 Quotation marks with other marks: A—periods, commas; B—colons, semicolons; C—others

219 No quotation marks: A—title of paper; B—irony, etc.;

220-221 Colon [:]

220 Colon (to introduce): A—list; B—long quotation; C—formal quotation, question; D—independent clause; E—business letter; F—announcement; G—resolution; H—play dialogue

221 Colon (to separate): A—title parts, etc.; bibliography parts

222 Dash [—]: A—break in thought; B—parenthetical element; C—appositive; D—quotation

223-224 Parentheses[( )]

223 Parentheses: A—incidental information; B—enclosing; C—accuracy; D—with other marks

224 No parentheses: A—deletions; B—editorial remarks

225 Brackets [[ ]]: A: editorial remarks; B—sic; C—stage directions; D—within parentheses

226 Hyphen[-]: A—compound words; B—compound adjective; C—numbers; D—clarification; E—ex-, self-, etc.; F—hesitation, etc.; G—word division

227 Slash (virgule) [/]: A—poetry; B—alternatives; C—per; D—fractions

III. MECHANICS, WITH SPELLING (Sections 301-314)

301-303 Capitalization

301Capital: A—sentence beginning; B—poetry; C—nonsentence; D—after colon; E—outline; F—title; G—letter greeting, close; H—I, O

302 Proper noun capital: A—person, group, etc.; B—place; C—organization, brand; D—day, month, etc.; E—sacred name; F—historical event, etc.; G—school, etc.; H—flag, award; I—planet, etc.; J—ship, etc.; K—initial, etc.; L—personification; M—title

303 No capital: A—compass points; B—seasons; C—family; D—school subject; E—common noun; F—words from proper nouns; G—after semicolon; H—interrupted quotation; I—fragmentary quotation; J—compound word; K—emphasis; L—book part

304 Word division (syllabication): A—by pronunciation; B—compound word; C—one-syllable word; D—single letter

305-307 Numbers

305 In words: A—one or two words; B—compound adjective; C—fraction; D—beginning sentence

306 In figures: A—three or more words; B—special uses; C—groups in same passage

307 Money

308-309 Abbreviations

308 Abbreviation: A—title before name; B—title after name; C—with numeral; D—Latin phrase; E—organization

309 No abbreviation: A—state, day, etc.; B—name; C—street, company, etc.; D—and; E—school subject; F—book part

310-314 Spelling

310 Improvement techniques: A—visualizing; B—practicing; C—similar words; D—related words; E—memory devices

311 Basic rules: A—ie-ei; B—final e; C—final y; D—doubling; E—letting alone

312 Plurals: A—extra syllable (-es); B—y ending (-es); C—f, fe ending (-es); D—o ending (-es); E—-is ending (–es); F—compound word; G—foreign plural; H—letter, symbol

313 Nonstandard, alternative spelling: A—nonstandard; B—preferred

314 One hundred problem words

IV. WORD CHOICE (Sections 401-405)

401 Conciseness, clarity, originality: A—conciseness; B—specificity; C—connotation; D—originality

402 Standard, appropriate English: A—formal vs. informal; B—limited use words; C—expressions to avoid

403 Nondiscriminatory terms: A—nonsexist; B—other

404 Similar words often confused

V. PARAGRAPHS AND PAPERS (Sections 501-510)

501 Manuscript Form: A—paper, typeface; B—spacing; C—title, paging; D—Justifying, word dividing; E—corrections

502-503 Paragraphs

502 Form, length [ESL]

503 Content: A—topic sentence; B—development; C—coherence (incl. transitions); D—unity, emphasis

504 Netiquette Guidelines

505-506 Essays

505 Before writing: A—topic; B—plan (prewriting, etc.); C—thesis; D—approach; E—outline

506 Writing, revising: A—first draft; B—revising, editing, proofreading; C—sample student essay

507-510 Research Papers

507 Planning, researching: A—topic; B—thesis (see 505C); C— locating sources (print, electronic, field); D—working bibliography; E—evaluating sources (objectivity, etc.); F— note taking (paraphrase, etc.); G—pulling it all together

508 Citing sources: A—within paper (MLA, APA); B—plagiarism [ESL]

509 Works cited/references list: A—MLA; B—APA

510 Setting up pages: A—text (MLA, APA); B—works cited/references list (MLA, APA)

Index (by section number)

Correction Chart