"Is it good or well? There, their, or they're? Some people don't have to think twice about using proper English, but for the rest of us it can get tricky and confusing. Whether you're writing or speaking, it's all too easy to fall prey to simple mistakes that will represent you in a less-than-desirable light--which can potentially cost you a job or put you in an embarrassing social situation. Avoiding complicated grammar rules, Basic English For Dummies sticks to the basics and makes it easy to get up and running on what you need to know to partake in successful everyday communication, no matter your audience or medium"-- provided by publisher.

Includes index.

Introduction -- Part I: Getting started with basic English grammar. Getting a grip on grammar ; Language in action -- Part II: The parts of speech. People to see, places to go, things to remember: recognizing nouns ; Practicing pronouns ; Doing and being words: verbs ; Describing with adjectives and adverbs ; Little things mean a lot: prepositions ; Joining and commenting: conjunctions and interjections -- Part III: Creating correct sentences. Making progress: verbs ending in -ing ; Revisiting the past: the perfect tenses ; Searching for subjects ; Adding meaning with complements ; Finishing the job: writing complete sentences -- Part IV: Punctuation and capitalization. Small punctuation mark, big trouble: apostrophes ; Pausing for a rest: commas ; Who said what: quotation marks ; Big or small? When to write capital letters -- Part V: Grammar in action. Writing with electronic media ; Presentation slides and bulleted lists ; Writing at school and on the job -- Part VI: Common errors. Spelling your way to perfection ; Tricky word traps ; Avoiding common mistakes -- Part VII: The part of tens. Ten easy ways to improve your writing skills ; Ten mistakes to avoid -- Index.