Ever wondered why we can say “Maria made the boy cry” but not “Maria made the boy crying”? Or why “Two coffees, please” is acceptable, but “Melvin loves coffees” is generally wrong? Or why we say “It has been raining since ten”, even though nobody asks “What did you say has been raining”? These are some puzzles that will be examined in The Nuts and Bolts of English Grammar. This book will help you understand what English grammar is and how it works. It will show how English combines parts of words to form longer words, how words change their form and combine with other words to form phrases, and how phrases are subsequently combined to form clauses and sentences and texts. Grammar is made both interesting and practical with real-life grammar puzzles. Will this book help you to improve your grammar? Probably, because if you’ve gained a better understanding of grammar by the time you reach the end of this book, you should be able to analyse your own sentences in ways you’ve never done before, and spot and avoid common grammatical errors.

Dr Norhaida Aman is lecturer and programme leader of English Language and Literature at the National Institute of Education, Singapore. She holds a PhD and MA from the University of Delaware, USA, specialising in language acquisition and syntax. Associate Professor Ludwig Tan is Vice Dean of the School of Arts & Social Sciences at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. He holds a PhD (Linguistics) from the University of Cambridge, UK.