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Claudioapolinar Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Need help with Garner's Modern Guide to American Usage (Non-native speaker)

Need help with Garner's Modern Guide to American Usage (Non-native speaker)

Hello. This has to do with Garner's Modern American Usage. I am on a quest to see if I am perfect my non-native English so that I can write and publish. The problem is that my English is not consistently correct.



I recently read The Sense of Structure: Writing from the Reader's Perspective by George Gopen. It's a excellent book that teaches English Structure. What it doesn't teach is style and word choice which I have problems with. So I must improve. My goal is to get published and to do that my English has to work with the standards. That includes usage and style rules.



Did I turn to the right book I'll ask? My question has to do with asking how to use Garner's Modern American Usage. If so then that is what I will ask only for starters. For one, how does a non-native speaker of the English language go about using it? Even though it has a small dictionary it is 800 pages. I want to zero in and read it in a few days. I don't want to have problems reading it. I only want to remember what is important. So what are the most important topics? I know I am a non-native speaker but is there an easy approach to this by just showing me the topics I need? I am very new to this. I decided I'd go to an English forum when I found it on a Google search and I am thankful. So what topics should I read? Is there is a easy way for a non-native speaker to go about this? Is this the right book for a non-native speaker of English? My main problems are style and word choice.



Someone recently read a manuscript of mine and came off with these complaints. I thought I''d show this to give a bigger perspective of the problem in my writing. Can Garner's Modern Guide to American Usage also help with this?



Inconsistent Tense

Inaccurate word usage. I've explained this.

Skips in logic.
Void in time: Later on the paragraphs pass time that are utterly unexplained. So quickly without even the reader realizing.

ideas often conflict. Descriptions often conflict.



Thank you for the assistance and please help me.
  

Top answer

Hi Claudio, welcome to EnglishForward! Your written English is better than the written English of MANY native English speakers. I don't know the book you're referring to, but it sounds like a good book, and worth reading.

  • Hi Claudio, welcome to EnglishForward!
  • Your written English is better than the written English of MANY native English speakers.
  • I don't know the book you're referring to, but it sounds like a good book, and worth reading.
  • I don't think you should try to find shortcuts to learning.
  • ) I will just comment on your message and general English rules.
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4 Answers
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Hi Claudio, welcome to EnglishForward!
Your written English is better than the written English of MANY native English speakers.
I don't know the book you're referring to, but it sounds like a good book, and worth reading. I don't think you should try to find shortcuts to learning. You never know what you don't know until you learn it :-) (In other words, you can't necessarily tell, or eve
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I am sincerely greatful for the reply Krisblue. I know that you put a lot of effort into your response.

=( I am greatly dissapointed on what english books have to offer. Someone could be making serious money writing books for english learner's problems. There's a big market for that. That is especially true given all the english language learners and speakers we have in the world. I st
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Ok I now think if I need a good book for my english problems. It should be on developmental english. I kind of regret not thinking of this earlier. Garner's book will help with style which is the most likely reason it was made for.
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Ok I think I got this now. I will read a book on developmental english. Garner's book is on style, and I won't need it for now. It will be for when I learn the material. Thanks KrisBlue.

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