The Modern Scholar: A Way With Words Part III: Grammar for Adults

This audio course is for anyone who has ever suffered from grammar anxiety. Prof. Drout gives special dispensation to place prepositions at the end of sentences, to use split infinitives, and conjunctions at the beginning of sentences. He also gives you a solid defense against those grammar sticklers that make others fret over syntax: ???keep your imported Latin grammar rules to yourself!???

Thanks to Prof. Drout I now understand how to correctly use ???I??? and ???me,??? ???that??? and ???which,??? ???who??? and ???whom.??? With generous references to the history of our exquisite language and a delightful sense of humor, Prof. Drout makes all the grammar worries go away. You???ll understand why parts of our language are strange and confusing, and gain a new appreciation for those trying to learn English as a second language.

Prof. Drout reads excerpts from Beowulf and Chaucer, so you???ll hear the musical roots of our wonderful language. He explains that the evolution of English is more about conquerors, and less about scholarly progression. He discusses past scholars who have declared Latin the perfect language and, therefore, tried to force English to conform to Latin grammar. This has resulted is some of the most frustrating aspects of English.

He explains that English grammar is an art, not a science. For this reason, he rails against grammar checkers, ???let those Seattle trolls keep their green squiggly lines to themselves.???

I highly recommend this course. You???ll actually understand what a participle is and why it shouldn???t dangle. You???ll comprehend gerunds, infinitives, and modals. Not only will you gain a solid command of English, but it happens in just 7 hours; that???s amazing!

This audio book helped me understand grammar from a different perspective. Professor Drout is probably one of the few people in the world who can explain grammar from a historical point and BE FUNNY!!!
This audio book has a website companion where you read his lectures and take an exam. I learned and was entertained. I recommend this book for not only non native English speakers like myself, but to anyone who wants to get grammar once and for all.

This course contains an enjoyable and interesting series of lectures on English grammer. It is narrated by its author, Professor Michael Drout, who explains the history of English grammer; and its rules, conventions and contradictions in a thoroughly humouress, light-hearted and logical manner. I would recommend this course to anyone seeking to improve their use and knowledge of English grammer, whether or not you may be a native English speaker or learning English as a second language.

I never thought anyone could be entertaining and teach grammar at the same time! I will be reading everything else available from Michael Drout. If you need to know grammar and think you'll hate, it this book is for you.

I found this book at audible main page and the image of the red panda and Grammar together made me curious... I checked just by curiosity because I never found grammar interesting... in fact I used to hate grammar. But it enjoyed so much the preview that I bought and guess what? I enjoyed so much that I can say I love grammar now! This book is a lot of fun to learn... You will learn as much as you laugh! But this is not only about fun! Michael D. C. Drout (1968- ) is the Prentice Associate Professor of English at Wheaton College and an author and editor specializing in Anglo-Saxon and medieval literature, science fiction and fantasy, especially the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and Ursula K. LeGuin. Drout holds a Ph.D. in English from Loyola University Chicago (May 1997), an M.A. in English from the University of Missouri (May 1993), and an M.A. in Communication from Stanford University (May 1991). Want to know more? Please buy this book and you will never regret. I'm listening for the 4th time !

I have always given top ratings to Michael D.C. Drout's entries in the Modern Scholar series. Not this one.

Before reading it, I wondered exactly how much grammar could be packed into 8 hours of lecture. The answer is more than I expected and less. Drout includes a lot of history of the English language in a number of the early chapters. He defines many English constructs that do not need defining or clarification and glosses over parts of speech that could have received more attention. It is obvious that he took much of the content of these lectures from other lectures on other subjects. Having read a fair amount of Drout, I have found that he does this a lot. It's almost like filler that he could have taken the time and space to use more prudently. Drout is on an ego trip and totally taken up by himself in these lectures.

The botom line is that I would not recommend this book. If you are interested in English grammar, get Mignon Fogarty's Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. It is fun and a masterpiece in writing. Or, if you are a podcast kind of person, subscribe to Grammar Girl's: Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing on iTunes. It doesn't get any better than this. I'd give Grammar Girl 10 stars.

As great a lecturer as Professor Drout is, even with his humour and considerable talent, an 8 hour lecture on grammar seems to be too much of a feat. No fault on the lecturer's part, it's the subject.

I was worried that this one might be dull but have been pleasantly surprised. Only Professor Drout could make Grammar this interesting.

I was looking for a book to brush up my grammar and came across this one. I have found most of the grammar books to be boring. But based upon the reviews, I thought I will give this book a chance. I finished this book on my drives to work in about 3 weeks and really enjoyed listening.

I like the way Professor Drout has made Grammar really interesting to listen to. Chapters 5 to 13 are just fabulous!

The fact that the lectures are narrated by Professor Drout made me feel that I was actually attending his lectures in school.

Prof. Drout has a very engaging style and makes any subject he talks about easy to understand and enjoyable.

Wonderful supplementary material for English students or anyone who wants to understand language.