Understanding English Grammar (7th Edition)

I own the 3rd edition of this book. I don't know if the comments I have will still apply to this edition, but here they are anyway.
I looked everywhere for a book that illustrated grammar instruction through diagramming sentences, and this is the only one I've found! If you aren't into that, don't let it discourage you. They are only used as illustrations and to show the similarities and differences between sentence types.
This book takes a very logical approach to grammar that I was very thankful for and which was very easy for me to follow, as it added just the right next bit of information as I was ready for it. It was just what I was looking for.

I have just suffered through this book for a college grammar course and I was left in a muddle by this text. This book made me believe I understood it all, until I realized the authors did not discuss the exceptions such as the parallel uses of words listed under one category that really could be in two or three categories. Sometimes the authors gave such unclear explanations that I was left with many questions as to when the rule would really apply. And the organization of the book seemed backwards. Some of the end chapters needed to be discussed at the beginning. But what really upset me was the dishonesty. Giving us the line that descriptive grammar was so much better than prescriptive grammar (arbitrary rules), they inferred that language is like arithmetic, that there are rules to describe how language works. Unfortunately language is not so precise. Sometimes 2 plus 2 did not equal four, as their rule stated. There were many ways to interpret words and fit them into their forms and functions, yet this ambiguity was not admitted. Some of grammar will always be prescriptive. After believing I understood grammar, this book painted my knowledge of grammar in a confusing shade of gray.

I'm a fiction writer. And there are four books within reach of my writing desk. The most recent addition has been Martha Kolln's Understanding English Grammar. This bad boy has it all, folks. If you're like me, you get tripped up on lie and lay like the rest of us, and those kinds of words (and the rules underlying them) are at the very heart of what UEG sets out to clarify. I think I first went to Kolln's masterpiece for help with prepositions. I don't know who first introduced prepositions into the English language, man, but I'd like beat him with a wet dish rag!

As Kolln says on page 320: "Prepositions are among the most difficult words in the language for foreign speakers to master." I'd take this a step further; I'd say they're the most difficult words for _English_ speakers to master. A couple of examples she lists:

Be sure to fill out the form carefully.
Be sure to fill in the form carefully.

He wasn't fired.
He didn't get fired.

Can _you_ spot the correct usage above? Well, if it gives you pause then Understanding English Grammar may be the book for you. It is a model of grammatical clarity and a wonderful reference book to turn to in times of grammatical doubt:~)

Other books I keep close by my writing desk include: "The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms," Richard Lanham's "A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms," and The Holy Bible. If cleanliness is next to Godliness, grammatical perfection is like Zen awareness. You know it's possible to attain, but achieving it is another matter altogether. Kolln's book can help -- with the grammar, that is.

Yours,
Stacey

It turns out that this handbook makes a huge success of introducing the structural work on English syntax. This compendious guide will never prove to be a disppointment to those who see the value of structuralism.

I have been using this as the text in my grammar class at Stephen F. Austin State University and I find it very helpful. It is a wonderful place to start for anyone wanting to be a better writer. If you can find the workbook that goes along with it I suggest using it. My only complaint is the sequence of the chapeters. I would start with the last section and then work my forward.