Painless Grammar (Painless Series)

The beauty of this book is its simplicity. Adults can benefit from Dr. Elliot's humorous approach used to keep eigth graders from falling asleep between reading about nouns and verbs.

The best way to describe this book is it's a kids version of Strunk and Whites, "Elements of Style."


An Excellent Grammar Check   May 8, 2005
deathbypen (USA)
57 out of 61 found this review helpful

I originally bought this book for my grade school age son. Months later, I began to write a series of fictional accounts of various things. This small book has been at my side constantly. It is an easy to use, well referenced little wonder of a tomb. I find the multiple examples helpful. It does the basic brush of grammar quite painlessly, as advertised. I am a college educated woman with more than eight years of post-graduate education. Yes, I have purchased a second copy for my son. He's not getting mine!


A nonintimidating grammar book!   October 4, 1999
34 out of 35 found this review helpful

If there is a way to make grammar painless, Dr. Elliott has done it. This book is delightful. My teenagers aren't even intimidated by fact it is a grammar book. It stays by our computer for every writing project, even mine.


Fabulous and clear!   October 12, 2000
DVD Nut (San Francisco, CA USA)
26 out of 27 found this review helpful

As a retired high school teacher of 10th and 11th grades, I wish I had had this resource for my students. More formal usage books are not only colder and more frightening-looking but are usually much less functional than this book in actually helping the student to write clearly and well. I wish that I had written it!


My English teacher once said to me; "When I mention Grammar,I don't mean your Grandpa's wife."   July 17, 2007
J. Guild (Toronto,Canada)
26 out of 27 found this review helpful


If you told me that at the age of 72,I would be buying a book on Grammar,I would have thought you were kidding.My old,long since departed teacher would be flabbergasted.However; not more so, than that I would be writing Book Reviews;and voluntarily at that.He had convinced himself that my only interests were playing pool,chasing girls,eating and sleeping;though not necessarily in that order;but more likely all at the same time.
I can't say that the proper use of grammar and punctuation were the high points on my lists of things to perfect. I did know the difference between "principal" and "principle"(I remind myself that the Principal was my "pal").I remember to use "but also" when I use "not only" and a few other things. So,when I saw this book,I wondered if it could help me with sorting out the difference between "lie" and "lay". Sure enough; it was explained;and now I can see why it is so difficult. A half hour later,I was still thumbing through the book and finding all kinds of interesting stuff;so I bought it.I plan to keep it right beside my Dictionary and Thesaurus and expect I'll turn to it often.I suspect I will continue my loose ways with commas,semicolons,colons,dashes,hyphens dots(I didn't know they were called Ellipses) etc. ;but at least I'll have something to turn to when I want to find out what is "correct.
Each subject is followed with "Brain Ticklers" to help you see if you really understand the points.If you run out of exercises;you can alwys use my review for practice---the only problem is that you're on your own for answers.Feel free to e-mail me it corrected.
A great resource,or is that resourse,and long overdue,or is that over due.(or is this a question?)
It's not easy teaching old dogs new tricks!!
Don't forget ,English is a living language,and the rules keep changing all the time.Some live in the past,some are way ahead of the times;and then there are the rest of us---God knows where!!