The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation

Bryan A. Garner

Published by University of Chicago Press 2016

The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation

Bryan A. Garner

In the series Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing

https://doi.org/10.7208/9780226191294

Overview
Contents

About this book

Few people can write on the English language with the authority of Bryan A. Garner. The author of The Chicago Manual of Style’s popular “Grammar and Usage” chapter, Garner explains the vagaries of English with absolute precision and utmost clarity. With The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation, he has written the definitive guide for writers who want their prose to be both memorable and correct.

Throughout the book Garner describes standard literary English—the forms that mark writers and speakers as educated users of the language. He also offers historical context for understanding the development of these forms. The section on grammar explains how the canonical parts of speech came to be identified, while the section on syntax covers the nuances of sentence patterns as well as both traditional sentence diagramming and transformational grammar. The usage section provides an unprecedented trove of empirical evidence in the form of Google Ngrams, diagrams that illustrate the changing prevalence of specific terms over decades and even centuries of English literature. Garner also treats punctuation and word formation, and concludes the book with an exhaustive glossary of grammatical terms and a bibliography of suggested further reading and references.

The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation is a magisterial work, the culmination of Garner’s lifelong study of the English language. The result is a landmark resource that will offer clear guidelines to students, writers, and editors alike.

Author information

Bryan A. Garner is president of LawProse, Inc.and Distinguished Research Professor of Law at Southern Methodist University. He is the author of the "Grammar and Usage" chapter of The Chicago Manual of Style and editor in chief of Black’s Law Dictionary. His many books on language and law include Garner’s Modern English Usage and Legal Writing in Plain English, the latter from the University of Chicago Press.

Reviews

“Garner is the greatest writer on grammar and usage that this country has ever produced. This book will be an instant classic.”

— David Yerkes, Columbia University

“A thoroughgoing, clear explication of the traditional categories of grammar, expanded from his summary in The Chicago Manual of Style and a fit companion to Garner’s Modern English Usage.”

— John E. McIntyre, author of The Old Editor Says

"TheChicago Guideis not what I expected, but it is what I had hoped for.There are a lot of grammar books available and a lot of sharply focused books on specific items . . .but there aren’t many, if any, that are comprehensive and accessible. TheChicago Guidecertainly is accessible and comprehensive."

— An American Editor

“[A manual] for those of us laboring to produce expository prose: nonfiction books, journalistic articles, memorandums, business letters. The conservatism of his advice pushes you to consider audience and occasion, so that you will understand when to follow convention and when you can safely break it. When someone offers you good advice, you would do well to take it.”

— John E. McIntyre, Baltimore Sun

“This grammar book doesn’t shoot and leave. It stays with you.”

— Hamodia

“Writers, copy editors, and students seeking advice or explanations of the conventions of standard literary English will find definitive, clearly expressed rulings inThe Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation. . . . Essential."

— Choice

“Garner’s guide is well-organized, logical, comprehensive, up-to-date, and comes alongside the reader in his or her search for clear as well as correct language (the second is not always the first).”

— Reference Reviews

“At last, everything I had long been looking for in a single volume presented logically and explained adequately in terms that any interested reader can not only follow but also make his or her own with a little due diligence and old-fashioned intellectual elbow grease.”

— Thomas R. Claire, Publishing Research Quarterly

“A grammar companion such as this one to CMS and an authoritative dictionary would establish language authority across company texts. Therefore, this work is highly recommended.”

— Technical Communication

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
I. The Traditional Parts of Speech
Nouns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	13
Traditional Classifications Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
Properties of Nouns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	23
Plurals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
Case Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	29
Agent and Recipient Nouns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	32
Conversions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	33
Pronouns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	36
Definition and Uses Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	36
Properties of Pronouns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	38
Classes of Pronouns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	42
Personal Pronouns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	42
Possessive Pronouns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	47
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	48
Demonstrative Pronouns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	49
Reciprocal Pronouns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	50
Interrogative Pronouns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
Relative Pronouns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	52
Indefinite Pronouns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	56
Adjectives Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	58
Types of Adjectives Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	58
Articles as Limiting Adjectives Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	61
Dates as Adjectives Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	63
Position of Adjectives Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	64
Degrees of Adjectives Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	66
Special Types of Adjectives Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	68
Functional Variation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	70
Verbs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	71
Definitions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	71
Infinitives Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	84
Participles and Gerunds Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	86
Properties of Verbs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	90
Auxiliary Verbs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	121
Adverbs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	127
Definition and Formation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	127
Simple vs. Compound Adverbs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	128
Types of Adverbs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	130
Adverbial Degrees Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	133
Position of Adverbs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	134
Prepositions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	139
Definition and Types Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	139
Prepositional Phrases Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	141
Other Prepositional Issues Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
Limiting Prepositional Phrases Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	144
Conjunctions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	146
Interjections Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	152
II. Syntax
Sentences, Clauses, and Their Patterns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	157
The Four Traditional Types of Sentence Structures Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	159
English Sentence Patterns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	160
Clauses Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165
Ellipsis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	167
Negation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	169
Expletives Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	173
Parallelism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
Cleft Sentences Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	178
Traditional Sentence Diagramming Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
Transformational Grammar Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195
Overview Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195
Base Rules in Transformational Grammar Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	196
Nouns and Noun Phrases Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
Determiners Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	198
Noun-Phrase Modifiers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	199
Verb Phrases Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	200
Different Types of Principal Verbs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	202
Adverbials Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	203
Transformations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205
Spotting Ambiguities Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
III. Word Formation
Generally Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
IV. Word Usage
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	223
Troublesome Words and Phrases Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	225
Bias-Free Language Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	324
Prepositional Idioms Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	329
V. Punctuation
The Comma Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	345
Using Commas Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	347
Preventing Misused Commas Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	351
The Semicolon Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	357
Using Semicolons Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	357
Preventing Misused Semicolons Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	359
The Colon Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	361
Using Colons Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	361
Preventing Misused Colons Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	364
Parentheses Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	365
Using Parentheses Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	365
Preventing Misused Parentheses Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	368
The Em-Dash (or Long Dash) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	369
Using Em-Dashes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	369
Preventing Misused Em-Dashes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	371
The En-Dash (or Short Dash) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	373
Using En-Dashes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	373
Preventing Misused En-Dashes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	373
The Hyphen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	375
Using Hyphens Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	375
Preventing Misused Hyphens Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	378
The Apostrophe Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	380
Using Apostrophes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	380
Preventing Misused Apostrophes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	381
Quotation Marks Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	382
Using Quotation Marks Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	382
Preventing Misused Quotation Marks Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	385
The Question Mark Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	386
Using Question Marks Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	386
Preventing Misused Question Marks Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	386
The Exclamation Mark Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	387
Using Exclamation Marks Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	387
Preventing Misused Exclamation Marks Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	387
The Period Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	388
Using Periods Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	388
Preventing Misused Periods Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	389
Brackets Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	390
Using Brackets Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	390
Preventing Misused Brackets Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	391
The Slash (Virgule) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	392
Using Slashes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	392
Preventing Misused Slashes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	393
Bullets Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	394
Ellipsis Dots Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	396
Using Ellipsis Dots Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	396
Preventing Misused Ellipsis Dots Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	398
Select Glossary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	401
Sources for Inset Quotations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	491
Select Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	497
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	507
Word Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	509
General Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	543
Pronunciation Guide Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	583

Language: English
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 560
Illustrations
- Other: 71 halftones, 44 line drawings
Keywords: Writing guide; Style; English reference; Linguistics; Sentence diagram; Language; Student; Teacher; Copy editing; Parts of speech; Syntax; Word; Usage; Use; Formation; Prose manual; Comprehensive; Chicago Manual of Style; Legal; Elements of style

eBook

Published: May 16, 2016
ISBN: 9780226191294