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Page i
Grammar in Plain English
Third Edition
by
Harriet Diamond, M.A.
President
Diamond Associates
Multi-Faceted Training and Development
Westfield, New Jersey
and
Phyllis Dutwin, M.A.
President
Dutwin Associates
Training and Development Programs
Wickford, Rhode Island
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Page ii
This book is dedicated to the many GED students
who were our very personal inspiration.
Pertinent directions are reprinted from The Official Teacher's Guide to the Tests of General Educational
Development, with permission from the American Council on Education.
Portion of material adapted from Russell Baker's "Backwards Wheels the Mind," The New York Times, July 1,
1973.
Copyright © 1973 by The New York Times Company.
Reprinted with permission.
Quote from Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
Copyright © 1970 by Richard D. Bach and Leslie Parrish-Bach.
Reprinted with permission of Macmillan Publishing Company.
Portions of material throughout this book adapted from DIAMOND ASSOCIATES' Business Writing Worth
Reading.
Copyright © 1986, 1995, 1996.
Portions of material throughout this book adapted from English the Easy Way by Harriet Diamond and Phyllis
Dutwin.
Copyright © 1996 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
© Copyright 1997 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
Prior editions © Copyright 1977 and 1989 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microfilm, xerography, or
any other means, or incorporated into any information retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, without the
written permission of the copyright owner.
All inquiries should be addressed to:
Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
250 Wireless Boulevard
Hauppauge, New York 11788
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 96-41601
International Standard Book No. 0-8120-9648-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Diamond, Harriet.
Grammar in Plain English / by Harriet Diamond and
Phyllis Dutwin. 3rd ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-8120-9648-7
1. English languageGrammar. 2. English language
Problems, exercises, etc. I. Dutwin, Phyllis. II. Title.
PE1112.D48 1996
428.2dc20 96-41601
CIP
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
10 9
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Page iii
Table of Contents
Introduction
vii
Effective Use of This Book: with Sample Questions
viii
Test-Taking Tips
x
1. The Simplest Complete Thought
1
What You've Always Known: The Sentence Pattern of Performer and Action
1
Recognizing Complete and Incomplete Thoughts
5
Action Words: Special Problems
9
Answer Key
18
2. Performer and Action: Understanding Time and Number
20
Understanding Time
20
Understanding Number
22
Answer Key
30
3. Adding Descriptive Words
31
Descriptive Words: Adding Meaning
31
Descriptive Words: Special Problems
35
Answer Key
38
4. Using Descriptive Words Correctly
39
Descriptive Words: Using Comparisons
40
Answer Key
44
5. Adding Descriptive Phrases
45
Descriptive Phrases: Adding Meaning
45
Descriptive Phrases: Correct Placement
49
Answer Key
53
6. Cumulative Review
55
Practice Exercises
Performer and Action: Agreement in Number
55
Action Words: Agreement in Time
55
Correct Use of Descriptive Words
55
Summary of Results
63
Skills Analysis
64
Answer Key
65
7. Linking Words
66
The Flink Is Pretty: The Subject Is Being, not Doing
66
Subject and Linking Word: Agreement in Number
72
The Missing Link(ing Word)
77
79
Answer Key
8. Agreement: Special Problems
81
Rules Concerning Special Problems of Agreement
82
Answer Key
91
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Page iv
9. Time: Special Problems
94
Common Misuses of Has and Have
95
Common Misuses of Had
97
Common Misuses of Will Have
99
Common Errors Regarding Simultaneous Actions
101
Answer Key
107
10. Pronouns
110
Clues to Pronoun Usage
112
Answer Key
124
11. Cumulative Review
126
Practice Exercises
Agreement in Time and Number
126
Correct Use of Descriptive Words and Phrases
126
Recognizing Complete and Incomplete Thoughts
126
Special Problems in Agreement
126
Special Problems in Time
126
Correct Use of Pronouns
126
Summary of Results
134
Skills Analysis
134
Answer Key
136
12. Balanced Sentences/Coordinated Thoughts
137
Balanced Sentences
138
Coordinated Thoughts
145
Answer Key
154
13. Punctuation
156
End Marks
156
Commas
157
Friendly and Business Letters
159
Semicolons
163
Answer Key
168
14. Cumulative Review
170
Practice Exercises
Balanced Sentences
170
Coordinated Thoughts
170
Correct Sentence Structure
170
170
Punctuation That Affects Sentence Structure
Summary of Results
180
Skills Analysis
181
Answer Key
182
15. Effective Expression
183
Style and Clarity
183
Problems with Logic
191
Answer Key
194
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Page v
16. More Punctuation
196
Quotation Marks
196
Common Errors with Quotation Marks
198
Other Marks of Punctuation
200
Answer Key
209
17. Capitalization
211
Survey Test
213
Answer Key
219
18. Spelling
221
Building Blocks of Words: Consonants, Vowels, Syllables
222
Adding to Words
223
Rules Concerning Spelling
223
The Role of Accent Marks
226
Spelling Review
231
Commonly Misspelled Words
240
Answer Key
245
19. Word Usage
248
Commonly Misused Words
249
Answer Key
273
20. Cumulative Review
274
Practice Exercises
Effective Expression
274
Punctuation
274
Capitalization
274
Spelling
274
Word Usage
274
Summary of Results
290
Skills Analysis
290
Answer Key
292
21. Writing Skills: Essays
295
Strong Sentences
296
Well-Developed Paragraphs
300
Successful Essays
304
More Writing Skills: Letters and Memoranda
313
Answer Key
324
22. Practice Examination
330
Writing Skills Test, Part I
330
Writing Skills Test, Part II
354
Answer Key
355
Guide to Grammatical Terms
356
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Page vi
Acknowledgments
We wish to express our appreciation to Walter Hauck, former director of the New Jersey State Department of
Education's Office of High School Completion, for his encouragement and assistance.
Thanks to Harry Linkin, former director of Adult and Continuing Education at the Union County Regional Adult
School, to Wayne Hemingway, former director of the High School Equivalency Program, and to Ted Gnagey,
former director of Adult Education at the South Orange-Maplewood Adult School, for providing the teaching
atmospheres that allowed us to work creatively and develop our material.
Finally, we would like to thank our families for their patience and encouragement with special thanks to Ellen
Diamond for her excellent contributions to the second and third editions.
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