It’s never too late to brush up on your writing skills!

Writing is a daily part of adult life, but many people are uncertain about basic rules and conventions. Do I need a comma before this clause? What exactly is a prepositional phrase? Is it ever necessary to use brackets? (Answer: Rarely, if ever.) With clear, no-nonsense explanations and examples, Grammar for Grown-ups makes learning the finer points of the English language easy. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know for clear and professional communication, including the mechanics of writing, the parts of speech, and proper punctuation and capitalization, as well as the most common errors—and how to avoid and fix them. Each lesson includes a practice exercise to reinforce learning.

• Master the basics—clear coverage of grammar rules and conventions, including the parts of speech and sentence structure
• Fine-tune the mechanics—how to use punctuation effectively and accurately
• Write with style—strategies to make your writing clear, compelling, consistent, and concise
• Practice makes perfect—exercise component for each lesson to reinforce learning

Mark Peters is an author and language expert. A member of the American Dialect Society, he has a PhD in English and has written numerous articles on language for Esquire, Forbes, McSweeney’s, Mental Floss, New Scientist, Salon, Slate, and Visual Thesaurus. He is also the author of Bullshit: A Lexicon.