Klappentext

The easy way to brush up on your English skills Is it good or well? There, their, or they're? Some people don't have to think twice about using proper English, but for the rest of us it can get tricky and confusing. Whether you're writing or speaking, it's all too easy to fall prey to simple mistakes that will represent you in a less-than-desirable light--which can potentially cost you a job or put you in an embarrassing social situation. Avoiding complicated grammar rules, Basic English For Dummies sticks to the basics and makes it easy to get up and running on what you need to know to partake in successful everyday communication, no matter your audience or medium. Inside, you'll find plenty of examples and exercises, guidance on how to structure sentences to make yourself easily understood, and so much more. In no time, you'll leave the 'me or I?' debate at the door and speak and write confidently and correctly. Plus, you'll expand your vocabulary, find the right tone and style you want to convey in your communication, and avoid common English language pitfalls. Includes quizzes and self-tests Provides guidance on composing letters, emails, texts, and phone calls Explains in plain English how to improve your English skills Gives you instruction and exercises on putting your skills to practice right away If English is your first language, but you missed or have forgotten the nuances that were taught in school, Basic English For Dummies is your go-to guide. It is also ideal for those learning English as a second language.

Zusammenfassung
The easy way to brush up on your English skills Is it good or well? There, their, or they're? Some people don't have to think twice about using proper English, but for the rest of us it can get tricky and confusing. Whether you're writing or speaking, it's all too easy to fall prey to simple mistakes that will represent you in a less-than-desirable light--which can potentially cost you a job or put you in an embarrassing social situation. Avoiding complicated grammar rules, Basic English For Dummies sticks to the basics and makes it easy to get up and running on what you need to know to partake in successful everyday communication, no matter your audience or medium. Inside, you'll find plenty of examples and exercises, guidance on how to structure sentences to make yourself easily understood, and so much more. In no time, you'll leave the 'me or I?' debate at the door and speak and write confidently and correctly. Plus, you'll expand your vocabulary, find the right tone and style you want to convey in your communication, and avoid common English language pitfalls. Includes quizzes and self-tests Provides guidance on composing letters, emails, texts, and phone calls Explains in plain English how to improve your English skills Gives you instruction and exercises on putting your skills to practice right away If English is your first language, but you missed or have forgotten the nuances that were taught in school, Basic English For Dummies is your go-to guide. It is also ideal for those learning English as a second language.

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Autorentext

Geraldine Woods is the author of more than 10 Dummies titles, including English Grammar For Dummies. She is a hugely experienced educator with a gift for helping students realize their potential and come to grips with even the hardest subjects. Her friendly style and good humor make learning easy.

Klappentext

The easy way to brush up on your English skills Is it good or well? There, their, or they're? Some people don't have to think twice about using proper English, but for the rest of us it can get tricky and confusing. Whether you're writing or speaking, it's all too easy to fall prey to simple mistakes that will represent you in a less-than-desirable light--which can potentially cost you a job or put you in an embarrassing social situation. Avoiding complicated grammar rules, Basic English For Dummies sticks to the basics and makes it easy to get up and running on what you need to know to partake in successful everyday communication, no matter your audience or medium. Inside, you'll find plenty of examples and exercises, guidance on how to structure sentences to make yourself easily understood, and so much more. In no time, you'll leave the 'me or I?' debate at the door and speak and write confidently and correctly. Plus, you'll expand your vocabulary, find the right tone and style you want to convey in your communication, and avoid common English language pitfalls. Includes quizzes and self-tests Provides guidance on composing letters, emails, texts, and phone calls Explains in plain English how to improve your English skills Gives you instruction and exercises on putting your skills to practice right away If English is your first language, but you missed or have forgotten the nuances that were taught in school, Basic English For Dummies is your go-to guide. It is also ideal for those learning English as a second language.

Inhalt

Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go From Here 3 Part I: Getting Started with Basic English Grammar 5 Chapter 1: Getting a Grip on Grammar 7 Getting to Know the Elements of Proper English 7 Building Language, Block by Block: Parts of Speech 8 Making Sentences 10 Action or being words 11 Subjects 12 Complements and descriptions 14 Small but Important: Punctuating, Capitalizing, and Spelling 14 Punctuation 15 Capitalization 16 Spelling 17 Facing Everyday Writing Tasks 18 Chapter 2: Language in Action 21 Adjusting Language to Suit Your Audience 21 Friendspeak 22 Conversational English 23 Standard English 24 Getting Help from Spelling and Grammar Checkers 26 Recognizing Your Grammar Profile 28 Part II: The Parts of Speech 31 Chapter 3: People to See, Places to Go, Things to Remember: Recognizing Nouns 33 Identifying Nouns 33 Naming people with nouns 34 Naming places with nouns 35 Naming things with nouns 36 Naming ideas and emotions with nouns 37 Sorting Out Singular and Plural Nouns 39 Adding the letters "S" or "ES" to form plurals 39 Creating plurals of words that end with the letter "Y" 40 Plurals that break the rules 42 Attaching "This," "These," and Other Words to Nouns 43 Chapter 4: Practicing Pronouns 47 Replacing Nouns with Pronouns 47 Pronouns for the speaker or writer 48 Pronouns that speak to others 50 Pronouns that speak about other people or things 51 Avoiding errors with two common pronouns 52 Solving the Case of Pronouns 54 Subject pronouns 54 Object pronouns 57 Sorting subject and object pronouns 58 Forming Possessive Pronouns 62 Chapter 5: Doing and Being Words: Verbs 65 Searching Out Verbs 65 Asking Questions to Find the Verb 66 Telling Time with Verbs 68 Present tense 68 Past tense 69 Future tense 71 Recognizing Forms of Some Important Verbs 72 The verb "be" 72 The verb "do" 73 The verb "have" 75 Getting Assistance from Helping Verbs 76 Asking questions with helping verbs 76 Creating negative statements with helping verbs 78 Expressing duty, ability, and possibility with helping verbs 80 Chapter 6: Describing with Adjectives and Adverbs 83 Adding Detail with Adjectives 83 How to find adjectives 85 Where to find adjectives 86 Writing Well with Adverbs 89 Adding information to verbs 89 Adding meaning to descriptions 91 Choosing between Adjectives and Adverbs 93 Placing "a" and "an" in the Proper Place 96 Making Comparisons with Adjectives and Adverbs 97 Single-word comparisons 97 Two-word comparisons 98 Irregular comparisons 99 Chapter 7: Little Things Mean a Lot: Prepositions 101 Recognizing Prepositions 101 Locating items and actions with prepositions 102 Telling time with prepositions 103 Discussing other relationships with prepositions 104 Identifying Objects of Prepositions 105 Finding objects through meaning 106 Locating objects with questions 107 Choosi…