Warring States Reference
English

English is not as hard as Upper Chehalis, but it is hard enough, in part because it is a composite of a Frisian base and a Latin-derived overlay. Rules are hard to formulate under such circumstances. We here make no attempt to do so, but simply give, for what they may be worth, a few guidelines on usage, including certain errors in usage which, perversely, are insisted on by schools in English-speaking countries

Usage
Errors.

Readings. The following are sensible and enjoyable, and are recommended in the sense that, as between their recommendations and the opposite, you will do better not to follow the opposite.

Fowler's English Usage
updated for Americans in Nicholson, but Fowler is more fun
Will Strunk (and E B White). The Elements of Style

In the end, your ear is your best guide, and the best way to educate your ear is to expose it early and steadily to people who handle English well. Our short list includes Shakespeare (the sonnets; Henry V), Shaw (the music criticism), Stevenson (the later pieces, including the letter to the Reverend Dr Hyde), Kipling (the poems and stories), Orwell (including the essay on Kipling), and Maugham (some of the stories and the occasional pieces, plus Cakes and Ale).

30 Nov 2005 / Contact The Project / Exit to Reference Page