| Feature | | Shertzer (Grammar) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Focus | Composition, brevity, word choice | Sentence mechanics, rules, correctness | | Famous Rule | "Omit needless words." | "A pronoun must agree with its antecedent." | | Best For | Making writing elegant and direct | Making writing correct and unambiguous | | Thickness | Slender (85 pages) | Slightly thicker (150+ pages) |
Shertzer explains: A comma is not strong enough to join two complete sentences. Doing so creates a "splice" — a weak weld. Use a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus a conjunction (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet). She doesn't just give the rule; she gives the imagery (a weak weld) that helps you remember it forever. This is the hallmark of a great teacher. In an era of autocorrect, Grammarly, and AI writing assistants, many assume that human knowledge of grammar is obsolete. That assumption is dangerous. AI tools make mistakes. Autocorrect changes "its" to "it's" randomly. Grammar checkers miss context. the elements of grammar margaret shertzer pdf
provides the foundational understanding that software cannot replace. It is concise enough to read in an afternoon but deep enough to reference for a lifetime. By obtaining a PDF copy (legally), you are not just downloading a file—you are investing in your own clarity, credibility, and confidence as a writer. | Feature | | Shertzer (Grammar) | |