The grammarphobes guide to better english in plain english. Oconners grammar book woe is i instead of woe is me. The grammarphobes guide to better english in plain englishthird edition possibly the most popular book on grammar ever published. In the case of the book s title,the butt of the joke is the old rule of english grammar now considered excessively formal that required the nominative case after the verb to be. The grammarphobes guide to better english in plain english fourth edition. I have been reading a number of grammar, writing, and style books. Woe is us bad grammar permeates language nbc nightly. The point is that no one is exempt from having their pronouns secondguessed. She said she chose the title to point out that only a pompous twit would insist on correct usage, since the phrase woe is me has been acceptable in english for generations. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Our grammar, punctuation and spelling areis abysmal.
A grammarphobes guide to better english in plain english. A little life by hanya yanagihara, corrupt by penelope douglas, on dublin street by samantha young, wuthering heights by emil. Woe is me definition in the cambridge english dictionary. The grammarphobes guide to better english in plain english fourth edition 4th edition. Enter woe is i, a firstrate grammar reference book or read several pages at once. Never mind that the rules of english grammar werent even formalized in shakespeares day. Discussion is brief and concise, and much more engaging than the grammar books you may remember. Woe is i was written to help those who are intimidated by correct grammar usage. For 400 years before shakespeare, the written record shows people using woe is me, woe is us, woe is unto me, woe to them. Although the book is meant for novices, it was just as enjoyable to someone like me who knows quite a lot about english.
Today the phrase woe is me is pretty fixed, but some past variations on the phrase make the meaning a little clearer. Because i appreciate beautiful, precise language, i enjoy an occasional refresher course in how to use it. Hundreds of years after the first ophelia cried woe is me, only a pedant would argue that shakespeare should have written woe is i or woe is unto me. Woe is me is just another one of the many phrases in english that are handed down whole to us from history with bits of old grammar locked in place. Woe is i covers everything from pronouns to the possessive to a. Oconnors woe is i is a great book and stands out among others. It provides just enough discussion and explanation for things to make sense, while omitting the tedious jargonfilled details that make your eyes cross. As the bestselling grammar book out there, i knew this wouldnt steer me wrong. It seems us americans aint talkin too good, dont write worth a lick and are worser with emails. A revised and updated edition of the iconic grammar guide for the 21st century. In the phrase woe is me, woe is the subject and me is a dative object, something that isnt allowed in english today. The expression has been acceptable in english for at least 800 years. Oconner unties the knottiest grammar tangles with the.