Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian
- Downloads：3566
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-03 11:21:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ellen Jovin
- ISBN：1665093005
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
For fans of Mary Norris and Benjamin Dreyer， an unconventional guide to the English language drawn from the cross-country adventures of an itinerant grammarian。
When Ellen Jovin first walked outside her Manhattan apartment and set up a folding table with a sign reading “Grammar Table，” it took about 30 seconds to get her first visitor。 EVERYONE had a question for her。 Grammar Table was such a hit—attracting the attention of the New York Times， NPR， and CBS National News—that Ellen soon hit the road， traveling across the U。S。 to answer questions from students， retired editors， bickering couples， and anyone else who uses words in this world。
In Rebel with a Clause she tackles what is most on people’s minds， grammatically speaking—from the Oxford comma to things you were never told about dictionaries， the ubiquity of like， common errors in online dating profiles， the likely lifespan of whom， semicolonphobia， and much， much more！
Punctuated with linguistic debates from tiny towns to sprawling state capitals， this is a treasure trove for anyone wishing to shore up their prose or delight in our age-old and universal fascination with language。
When Ellen Jovin first walked outside her Manhattan apartment and set up a folding table with a sign reading “Grammar Table，” it took about 30 seconds to get her first visitor。 EVERYONE had a question for her。 Grammar Table was such a hit—attracting the attention of the New York Times， NPR， and CBS National News—that Ellen soon hit the road， traveling across the U。S。 to answer questions from students， retired editors， bickering couples， and anyone else who uses words in this world。
In Rebel with a Clause she tackles what is most on people’s minds， grammatically speaking—from the Oxford comma to things you were never told about dictionaries， the ubiquity of like， common errors in online dating profiles， the likely lifespan of whom， semicolonphobia， and much， much more！
Punctuated with linguistic debates from tiny towns to sprawling state capitals， this is a treasure trove for anyone wishing to shore up their prose or delight in our age-old and universal fascination with language。
Reviews
Judy
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I just finished "Rebel With a Clause" and loved it。 Ellen Jovin paints a colorful picture of the anxiety， snobbery， absurdity， and， ultimately， flexibility that grammar and punctuation evoke in people from all walks of life。 I also appreciated the easily readable tutorials， such as Semicolonphobia！， Subject-Verb Synchronicity， and Comma Volume。Most importantly， "Rebel With a Clause" has therapeutic value: In showing that there's more than one way to form a sentence， Jovin encourages a freer， les I just finished "Rebel With a Clause" and loved it。 Ellen Jovin paints a colorful picture of the anxiety， snobbery， absurdity， and， ultimately， flexibility that grammar and punctuation evoke in people from all walks of life。 I also appreciated the easily readable tutorials， such as Semicolonphobia！， Subject-Verb Synchronicity， and Comma Volume。Most importantly， "Rebel With a Clause" has therapeutic value: In showing that there's more than one way to form a sentence， Jovin encourages a freer， less self-conscious， and confident relationship to language。 。。。more
Biblio Files （takingadayoff）
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This was the most fun I have ever had reading about grammar。 I love language and linguistics and word origins and can even venture an opinion about the Oxford comma and the future of "whom，" but diagramming sentences or naming the parts of speech leaves me cold。 Until now。 Ellen Jovin could not be more enthusiastic about language and grammar。 She even gives out grammar and usage advice for free from her "grammar table，" originally in her neighborhood in Manhattan， but then she and her filmmaker This was the most fun I have ever had reading about grammar。 I love language and linguistics and word origins and can even venture an opinion about the Oxford comma and the future of "whom，" but diagramming sentences or naming the parts of speech leaves me cold。 Until now。 Ellen Jovin could not be more enthusiastic about language and grammar。 She even gives out grammar and usage advice for free from her "grammar table，" originally in her neighborhood in Manhattan， but then she and her filmmaker husband took their show on the road， hitting 48 states before the covid lockdown spoiled the fun。 These short chapters cover dozens of grammar issues and they are taken from conversations she had at the grammar table。 Lots of fun as everyday passersby exchange views on language。 And there's a movie version on the way！ 。。。more
Cook Memorial Public Library
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Read about Jean's Pick of the Week on our blog， Shelf Life: https://shelflife。cooklib。org/2022/07。。。Check our catalog: https://encore。cooklib。org/iii/encore。。。 Read about Jean's Pick of the Week on our blog， Shelf Life: https://shelflife。cooklib。org/2022/07。。。Check our catalog: https://encore。cooklib。org/iii/encore。。。 。。。more
Joe
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A fun romp。 Jovian is smart， well informed， and funny。 She welcomes and respects the people who come to talk with her at her roving Grammar Table。 She enjoys interacting with them， and uses grammar as a pretext to revel in the quirks of language。 As a book， though 。 。 。 It does get repetitive， and I’d have appreciated something more along the lines of argument， development， narrative。 But as a grammar picaresque， it’s fine。
Michele G
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A very charming story about an actual teacher who sets up her grammar table at different sites around the States answering pressing grammar questions。 Not just for us nerds！
Matthew Galloway
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I found this more a charming journey with someone who loves grammar than a book that’s going to teach you correct grammar。 The book is made of anecdotes from the authors tour of the United States with her “grammar table” （and I totally wish I’d heard about this so I could have visited the table when she came to Colorado！）。 I did learn things here and there， but mostly just enjoyed her excitement and the excitement of most of her videos。 It’s one of those things that just shows you that nerdy peo I found this more a charming journey with someone who loves grammar than a book that’s going to teach you correct grammar。 The book is made of anecdotes from the authors tour of the United States with her “grammar table” （and I totally wish I’d heard about this so I could have visited the table when she came to Colorado！）。 I did learn things here and there， but mostly just enjoyed her excitement and the excitement of most of her videos。 It’s one of those things that just shows you that nerdy people are wonderful and being passionate about a subject will get people to be excited with you。 。。。more
Dave Nelsen
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On the surface， this is a story about Ellen Jovin， a language expert who travels around the US with her Grammar Table， answering questions， offering advice， and taking complaints。 Really， though， it’s a story about the English language today: the rules， the flexibility of those rules， and people’s relationships with those rules—or what they perceive to be the rules。 It’s at once a whimsical collection of human interaction stories and a practical resource for anyone interested in language。When wr On the surface， this is a story about Ellen Jovin， a language expert who travels around the US with her Grammar Table， answering questions， offering advice， and taking complaints。 Really， though， it’s a story about the English language today: the rules， the flexibility of those rules， and people’s relationships with those rules—or what they perceive to be the rules。 It’s at once a whimsical collection of human interaction stories and a practical resource for anyone interested in language。When writing about a road trip， it’s tempting to organize the story by location。 Jovin， however， opts to organize her book by topic， which is much more useful to the reader。 In other words， there’s no single chapter on New York City or Minneapolis or Boise。 Rather， there’s a chapter on the Oxford comma， a chapter on subject-verb agreement， a chapter on gerunds versus present participles， and so on。 She teaches her grammar lessons to the reader by recounting her stories of teaching the same lessons to the colorful question-askers she encountered on the road。 It’s an engaging approach to a book about grammar; more than once， I found myself thinking I was taking part in these interactions。Jovin’s attitude toward grammar matches mine。 She really （I mean really） knows her stuff， but she also knows the rules are constantly changing。 She has her own preferences but is openminded。 When people ask questions， she answers joyfully rather than scolding them， which is in stark contrast to many of the middle-school English teachers we all had。 Jovin surprises （and， much to my enjoyment， occasionally disappoints） visitors who approach her assuming she’s a stern old schoolmarm only to find she’s truly there to help people。 When someone visits the Grammar Table with a complaint or a strong opinion， she’s like a therapist。 She makes it a conversation and often asks the visitors questions to help them move toward peace。 It’s such a welcoming and refreshing contrast to the strict stance we associate with grammar authorities and the zero-tolerance approach of some less-qualified English usage authors。Rebel with a Clause is a delight。 It’s packed with information and is such an easy read， which is a rare combination。 Pick up a copy for yourself and copies for anyone in your life even slightly fascinated by English grammar。 。。。more
Tom Hagy
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Read it！ Gift it！ Teach it！ Obviously I loved it。 Ms。 Jovin planted her Grammar Table in all but two states。 Much of her expedition — really a cultural and grammar safari — is on tape thanks to her videographer husband。 The author weaves funny and heartwarming stories told by Table visitors into grammar lessons we all can use （including people who *ahem* write for a living）。 It is better than Elements of Style for reference and enjoyment （though Elements had a different mission）。 Rebel With a Cl Read it！ Gift it！ Teach it！ Obviously I loved it。 Ms。 Jovin planted her Grammar Table in all but two states。 Much of her expedition — really a cultural and grammar safari — is on tape thanks to her videographer husband。 The author weaves funny and heartwarming stories told by Table visitors into grammar lessons we all can use （including people who *ahem* write for a living）。 It is better than Elements of Style for reference and enjoyment （though Elements had a different mission）。 Rebel With a Clause reminds me of the Joys of Yiddish， in which the late Leo Roston told stories using some of the most colorful words humans ever created。 She has taken the exploration of modern day language up several levels， combining impressively active social media engagement with honest-to-god in person conversations or， if you chose， mere venting。 Her stories put a smile on your punim and mnemonic devices in your noggin。 Wha？ She offers guidance in a way that it sticks with you， is my point。 Her writing itself is beautiful。 Crisp and clean。 Something to emulate （unlike this review）。 It's on my list to show up at her table one day so I can rant about the spelling or pronunciation of the word triple！ I actually get angry about it！ And I want to share with her what I can remember from listening to anthropologist Wade Davis' Canadian "Massy Lectures" -- a brilliant series about why， when languages die， a wealth of history and unique insights into what it means to be human die too。 。。。 You will see from the book how welcoming and kind she is， and how educated -- since she can talk grammar in something like a dozen languages。 Follow her and get the book！ 🙂 And look for the documentary when it comes out。 Can't wait！ I hope she goes international。 。。。more
Morgan
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Her book’s title notwithstanding， Ellen Jovin doesn’t seem to be a grammar rebel; she understands the rules and likes to explain them。 But she does have plenty of favorite causes， such as promoting grammar-related knowledge， humility， and curiosity。 Jovin’s informative and entertaining book， one result of traveling across the United States and fielding grammar questions， makes clear that people from every corner of the country have similar insecurities and complaints about the English language。 Her book’s title notwithstanding， Ellen Jovin doesn’t seem to be a grammar rebel; she understands the rules and likes to explain them。 But she does have plenty of favorite causes， such as promoting grammar-related knowledge， humility， and curiosity。 Jovin’s informative and entertaining book， one result of traveling across the United States and fielding grammar questions， makes clear that people from every corner of the country have similar insecurities and complaints about the English language。 These range from punctuation and pronunciation issues to ending sentences with prepositions， needless capitalization， and the challenges of subject-verb synchronicity。 Jovin’s enjoyment of almost all of the people she has met and all of the grammar questions they have asked is evident on every page。 Now that I’ve read the book， I’m looking forward to the Grammar Table documentary that Jovin and her husband started filming during their pre-pandemic road trips。 。。。more
Amy Spungen
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I will be ordering copies of this delightful book for my friends， including those who edit for a living and those who read generally， finding aspects of grammar both interesting and intimidating。 Through her unique approach to grammar—that is， traveling around the US and answering grammar questions from anyone， and I mean ANYONE， who approaches her Grammar Table—Jovin ultimately engages both those who ask questions and those who enjoy reading of her grammar adventures， painlessly soaking up gram I will be ordering copies of this delightful book for my friends， including those who edit for a living and those who read generally， finding aspects of grammar both interesting and intimidating。 Through her unique approach to grammar—that is， traveling around the US and answering grammar questions from anyone， and I mean ANYONE， who approaches her Grammar Table—Jovin ultimately engages both those who ask questions and those who enjoy reading of her grammar adventures， painlessly soaking up grammar advice along the way。 Each chapter features a tricky aspect of grammar， followed by a "quizlet。" This book is a gem！ 。。。more
Laura
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Fun！ I would have liked a bit more information about the author herself， but this was an enjoyable and anecdotal way to explore some of grammar’s tricky bits。
Maggie
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Ellen Jovin， an accomplished grammarian， leads us through American English by relating conversations she’s had across the country at her traveling grammar table。 This was such a fun and refreshing way to review grammar。 I learned a few things that have been updated since I was in school， too！ I’m a tad embarrassed to realize that I’ve been dating myself by using the double space after the end of a sentence。 I’m not quite ready to quit， but am now at least aware。 Overall， I found this a remarkabl Ellen Jovin， an accomplished grammarian， leads us through American English by relating conversations she’s had across the country at her traveling grammar table。 This was such a fun and refreshing way to review grammar。 I learned a few things that have been updated since I was in school， too！ I’m a tad embarrassed to realize that I’ve been dating myself by using the double space after the end of a sentence。 I’m not quite ready to quit， but am now at least aware。 Overall， I found this a remarkably breezy read， especially considering its topic。 I wish I had bumped into her during her journey！ Highly recommended to anyone who loves grammar or wants to learn more。 Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for access to this ARC。 I can’t wait to recommend it upon its release。 。。。more
LeeAnn
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