Right-click here to download pictures. Jane Straus

Welcome to your GrammarBook.com e-newsletter.

I've purchased several grammar books. The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation is the easiest to understand—straight to the point with clear definitions. It's the only book that's kept my attention.
—Patricia C.



I'm a writer and love the assistance I receive from GrammarBook.com.
—Christine H.



I learn a great deal about grammar and punctuation from your e-newsletter each week.
—Alice

It was one year ago that we passed along to you the unfortunate news of the death of our popular GrammarBook writer Tom Stern. Tom loved writing about the English language, and he loved writing for and hearing from you, his audience. He was a keen observer and critic of the media. While the article below is only tangentially related to grammar, punctuation, and the use of language, it’s one he left for us to publish at some point in the future. We thought we’d run it today in remembrance of Tom Stern’s wit and way with words.

Pop Culture Fallacies

This is the paradox of the pop culture: it’s street smart and cutting-edge hip, yet as easy to fleece as Little Bo Peep.

In an open society, people are free to believe anything. It’s not like centuries ago, when you could be put to death for doubting the sun revolved around the (flat) earth.

Which “experts” should we trust? A few years back, word got around that we weren’t sufficiently “hydrated” unless we drank eight glasses of water a day. Then the British Medical Journal said never mind, just drink when you’re thirsty.

When running swept the country in the 1970s, the first commandment was, Stretch those muscles and tendons before hitting the trail. Now Sports Illustrated has a different take: “Study after study has found that increased flexibility actually impairs performance.”

I’ve lost track: Is pasta good or bad? Did you know dark chocolate is high in antioxidants and improves cardiovascular health? Silly me, I thought it trashed my teeth. Remember when red wine rotted livers and caused gout? Now it prevents blood clots, lowers the risk of prostate cancer, and protects against Alzheimer’s.

Yet more popular misconceptions:

“Kiss me, you fool!”  We’re all familiar with this audacious, provocative line, and we always picture a woman saying it. But would you believe it’s a misquotation? It comes from A Fool There Was, a popular 1915 silent film starring the sultry, wicked Theda Bara. In a torrid scene with her lover, Bara spoke wordlessly as the intertitle flashed “Kiss me, my fool!”

Sodium Pentothal is a “truth serum”  Sodium Pentothal in small doses lowers inhibitions and makes users talkative, but there’s no certainty they’re telling the truth. So much for those movies in which the bad guys drug some hapless character who spills crucial classified info.

Mussolini made the trains run on time  The trains were no more efficient under him than they were before. This infamous canard was devised to assure skeptics that as fascist dictators go, you could do a lot worse than Benito “Il Duce” Mussolini (1883-1945), who (mis)led Italy from the 1920s and on into World War II.

Jimmy Carter’s “malaise” speech  In July 1979 the U.S. had an energy crisis, an inflation crisis, and a growing unemployment crisis. Carter addressed the nation with what is remembered as his ill-advised “malaise” speech, supposedly a putdown of America that helped seal his political doom. But at the time, the speech was received quite positively—and Carter never once said “malaise.”

Tom Stern



Because of the e-newsletter’s large readership, please submit your comments or questions regarding today's (or any past) article through GrammarBook.com’s Grammar Blog



Free BONUS Quiz for You!

[[firstname]], because you are a subscriber to the newsletter, you get access to one of the Subscribers-Only Quizzes. Click here to take a Spelling Quiz and get your scores and explanations instantly!

Today's quiz was developed by Tom Stern. Warning: it's challenging! See how you do without the help of any references.



More Good News for Quiz Subscribers

We are pleased to announce that we have added even more quizzes to help you challenge yourself, your students, and your staff. We added quizzes to existing categories and created some new categories such as “Vocabulary,” “Spelling,” “Confusing Verbs,” “Subjunctive Mood,” “Comprise,” and “Sit vs. Set vs. Sat.”

We reviewed and strengthened every quiz on our website to ensure consistency with the rules and guidelines contained in our eleventh edition of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation.

If you think you have found an error in a quiz, please email us at help@grammarbook.com.



Hundreds of Additional Quizzes at Your Fingertips

Hundreds of Quizzes

“GrammarBook's subscription quizzes opened a new door for me, a way to see exactly who is doing the work and who isn’t, and it is very convenient for the students.”

“So convenient … hundreds of quizzes in one click.”


[[firstname]], Subscribe to receive hundreds of English usage quizzes not found anywhere else!

  • Take the quizzes online or download and copy them.
  • Get scored instantly.
  • Find explanations for every quiz answer.
  • Reproduce the quizzes to your heart’s content.
  • EASY to use.
  • No software to download.
  • No setup time.
  • A real person to help you if you have any questions!

Instructors and Employers: we make your life easier!

  • Assign quizzes to your students or employees.
  • Students log in from anywhere.
  • Scores are tallied and compiled for you.
  • You decide whether to let students see their own scores and quiz explanations.
  • Let GrammarBook.com take the hassle out of teaching English!

“Fun to test my skills!”

“The explanations really help … thanks!”

Your choice: Subscribe at the $29.95 or $99.95 level ($30 off - previously $129.95).

“I download the quizzes for my students who don’t have computer access.”

Subscribe today to receive hundreds of English usage quizzes not found anywhere else!

“Makes learning English FUN!”


Quizzes

Don’t need all the quizzes at once?
You can now purchase the same quizzes individually for ONLY 99¢ each. Purchase yours here.


The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation

Get Yours Today!

Get Amazon’s No. 1 Best-seller in Four Categories!
No. 1 in Grammar
No. 1 in Reading
No. 1 in Lesson Planning
No. 1 in Vocabulary

The Blue Book of Grammar
and Punctuation

by Jane Straus, Lester Kaufman, and Tom Stern

The Authority on English Grammar!
Eleventh Edition Now Available

Have You Ordered Your Copy Yet?

An indispensable tool for busy professionals, teachers, students, homeschool families, editors, writers, and proofreaders.

Available in print AND as an e-Book! Over 2,000 copies are purchased every month!

Order Your Copy Today!

  • Hundreds of Grammar, Punctuation, Capitalization, and Usage Rules 
  • Real-World Examples
  • Spelling / Vocabulary / Confusing Words
  • Quizzes with Answers

The publisher of The Blue Book, Jossey-Bass, A Wiley brand, is offering a 35 percent discount for those of you who order the book through Wiley.com. Shipping and tax are not included. Simply go to bit.ly/1996hkA and use discount code E9X4A.

*Offer expires December 31, 2017.


Wordplay



Tom Stern hated the pervasive misuse of "literally."



68 One-Minute English Usage Videos

English In A Snap: 68 One-Minute English Usage Videos FREE 

Learn all about who and whom, affect and effect, subjects and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and much more by just sitting back and enjoying these easy-to-follow lessons. Tell your colleagues (and boss), children, teachers, and friends. Click here to watch.


Forward this e-newsletter to your friends and colleagues.

Newsletter

If you received this FREE weekly e-newsletter from a friend, click here to have it sent to you each week.

Look for more Hot Tips from GrammarBook.com next week.

Miss a recent newsletter? Click here to view past editions.

Subscriber Log In Subscriber Benefits