Jane Straus - The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation: An Easy-to-Use Guide with Clear Rules, Real-World Examples, and Reproducible Quizzes

Front Flap iStockphoto.com/Paul Hart

Cover background iStockphoto.com/Goldmund Lukic

Copyright 2014 by Lester Kaufman. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Straus, Jane.

The blue book of grammar and punctuation : an easy-to-use guide with clear rules, real-world examples, and reproducible quizzes / Jane Straus, Lester Kaufman, Tom Stern. Eleventh edition.

pages cm

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-118-78556-0 (pbk) ISBN 978-1-118-79021-2 (pdf) ISBN

978-1-118-79032-8 (epub)

1. English language Grammar. 2. English language Grammar Problems, exercises, etc. 3. English language Punctuation. 4. English language Punctuation Problems, exercises, etc. I. Kaufman, Lester II. Stern, Tom III. Title.

PE1112.S773 2014

428.2 dc23

2013038993

Jane Straus created her English language instructional materials because she found no books that conveyed the rules of English inwellplain English. Over the years of teaching basic English language skills to state and federal government employees as well as to individuals in the private sector and in nonprofit organizations, she refined her materials, eventually creating The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation and its related website, GrammarBook.com.

In the introduction to the tenth edition, the author spoke of her 2003 brain tumor diagnosis, how it led to her next bold steps in life, and her successful surgery to remove the tumor. Unfortunately, in 2009, she again learned she had a new, unrelated brain tumorthis time malignant. Jane Ruth Straus passed away on February 25, 2011.

Due to the outpouring of appreciation for her work, her husband, Lester Kaufman, continued to oversee the GrammarBook.com website so that anyone around the world could still benefit from her life's work. He also collected ideas and suggestions for changes, new material, and improvements to The Blue Book. After making the acquaintance of Tom Stern, a Marin County, California, writer and editor, Kaufman recognized that Stern possessed the knowledge, skills, experience, and passion needed to thoroughly re-examine The Blue Book and revise it to make it a first-rate grammar resource for everyone.

First and foremost, thanks must go to the late Jane Straus for her vision and persistence in creating a reference guide and workbook that is popular and easy to understand. We could not have succeeded in updating this book without the assistance of Marjorie McAneny at Jossey-Bass and literary agent Cathy Fowler, both of whom steadfastly believed in the book's value. We also thank Zoe Kaufman, Jojo Ortiz, and Patti Clements, for their contributions to the quizzes; the thousands of loyal readers and viewers of the GrammarBook.com website who, by offering valuable input daily, have helped shape the rules, examples, and quizzes; and Gary Klehr, for helping name the book many years ago.

This book is dedicated to my brilliant wife, Jane Straus. She was a multitalented woman with boundless energy and a natural gift for clarifying all matters complex. She put her heart and soul into everything she undertook. She was taken from us far too soon.

LESTER KAUFMAN

Jane Straus (19542011) was an educator, life coach, and best-selling author. To prepare for a job teaching English to employees of the state of California in 1975, Straus scoured the library for materials that conveyed the rules of English in plain English. Finding no such resources, she wrote the rules her own way, made up exercises, ran off some copies, and hoped for the best.

The class was a hit. More and more state employees demanded that they get an equal opportunity to benefit from Straus's no-nonsense instruction in English grammar and usage. She continued to refine her materials, eventually turning them into The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation.

When the Internet was born, she launched a website, GrammarBook.com, which has helped millions of people all over the world improve their English grammar. Straus became a sought-after speaker in the fields of grammar, public speaking, and life coaching. Her other book is Enough Is Enough! Stop Enduring and Start Living Your Extraordinary Life (Jossey-Bass, 2005).

Lester Kaufman is the publisher of GrammarBook.com. A lifelong public servant, he served first in the Peace Corps, and eventually completed the final years of his federal career with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He married Jane Straus in 1987.

After his retirement from the EPA, Kaufman began assisting with the operation of Straus's fledgling website and helped edit previous editions of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation