Grammar geek - Michael Powell

English is full of beauty and surprises, yet despite being the lingua franca of the globalization world, it has a reputation for being difficult to learn because its grammar has also so many quirks and contradictions.

Did you know:
- "Terry loves yogurt" is an example of illeism
- preposition stranding is a bogus rule
- sometimes it's acceptable to begin a sentence with "but" or "and"
- "Could you pass the salt?" is "whimperative"
- it's OK to boldly split infinitives

Many of us don't even know the basics, so not only does Grammar Geek reveal obscure grammar rules and bogus ones you can safely ignore, it's also a handy primer, so in the future you'll have no excuse for dangling a modifier or misplacing a semicolon.

Michael Powell studied English Language and Literature at Manchester University before spending three years at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, training to be an actor. He then spent five years as an internationally unknown professional actor and musical director. In 1996, Michael entered publishing and became assistant editor at BCA for two years. In 2001, Michael became a freelance writer and editor. Since then, he has established a reputation for writing a wide range of books for adults and children.