Reviews for The little English handbook

The average rating for The little English handbook based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-02-08 00:00:00 Melissa Black خب خسته نباشم، یه ماهی کلاً فراموشش کرده بودم. :)) این مرضِ کتاب‌های متعدد را نصفه خواندن رو باید ریشه‌کن کنم. یه کتاب کوچیک، خلاصه، ساده و موجز که خوندنش برا هر زبان‌آموزِ جدی‌ای لازمه.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-04-21 00:00:00 Ricky Shelton Great advice all throughout the book. Just picking something at random: Section 28 “Use the subordinate conjunction "that" if it will prevent a possible misreading.” “The tendency of any language is toward economy of means.” That is an elegant little observation and so true. “Whether to use the conjunction that in written prose will be a problem only when a noun clause is being used as a direct object of a verb...” This sounds confusing until you start sounding it out. “Trump thought that he was making sense, instead he was just blabbering again.” Instead try, “Trump thought he was making sense, instead he was just blabbering again.” It means the same with an economy of words. But the book points out a number of examples where you must use the word ‘that’. “My father believed his doctor, who was a boyhood friend, was wholly trustworthy.” The sentence is not entirely clear until you insert the word, "that", between the words ,”believed” and “his”. Twitter users need not apply, but writers and lawyers will benefit. I have been using this book for more than 30 years in an effort to better explain myself in words. This is also an invaluable resource for students writing long term papers requiring citations and clear exposition. Sadly, like “The Elements of Style”, you can use this book in service of the Dark Side. For example, section 86, “Underline (italicize) foreign words and phrases, unless they have become naturalized or Anglicized”. For example, “Trump will never have to give a deposition again as his lawyers will successfully argue he is non compos mentis.” When you throw in correct words without giving the reader a head’s up that you’re using a term of art, the reader needs to go back and re-read the sentence. Sometimes that is the objective. Obfuscation in service of your point. The proper way to write the sentence would be “Trump will never have to give a deposition again as his lawyers will successfully argue he is NON COMPOS MENTIS.” Goodreads probably won’t allow for that distinction to appear, so you’ll have to imagine the italics in the Latin phrase. (For non lawyers, it simply means not of a sound mind.) In any event, if you write professionally, or simply want to write a good business letter, this book is invaluable. I’m also sorry (not sorry) for using Trump as a bad example because he neither speaks nor writes with care. Don’t follow his (bad) example.