The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation

Few people can write with as much authority on the English language as Bryan A. Garner. The author ofThe Chicago Manual of Style’s popular “Grammar and Usage” chapter, Garner is adept at explaining the vagaries of English with absolute precision and utmost clarity. WithThe Chicago Guide to English 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 offers 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. The book also covers punctuation and word formation, concluding with an exhaustive glossary of grammatical terms and a bibliography of suggested further reading and references.

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

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 ofThe Chicago Manual of Style and editor in chief of Black’s Law Dictionary. His many books on language and law includeGarner’s Modern American Usage and Legal Writing in Plain English, the latter from the University of Chicago Press.