
Brehe’s Grammar Anatomy
Steven Brehe, University of North Georgia
Copyright Year:
ISBN 13: 9781940771496
Publisher: University of North Georgia Press
Language: English
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CC BY-SA
Reviews





Reviewed by Michael Petersen, Professor, City Colleges of Chicago on 2/18/23
Brehe's Grammar Anatomy is equally as comprehensive as other standard basic grammar textbooks. Furthermore, the chapters sub-divide complex topics into more-easily digestible categories. Brehe manages to achieve this comprehensiveness while... read more
Reviewed by Michael Petersen, Professor, City Colleges of Chicago on 2/18/23
Comprehensiveness
Brehe's Grammar Anatomy is equally as comprehensive as other standard basic grammar textbooks. Furthermore, the chapters sub-divide complex topics into more-easily digestible categories. Brehe manages to achieve this comprehensiveness while keeping the chapter length between a desirable 5-15 pp. Even with this brevity, each topic is covered fully and efficiently.
Content Accuracy
The information, rules, and examples are accurate throughout the book. I did not find any instances of inaccuracy. The rules and conventions of English grammar are clear and correct.
Relevance/Longevity
The subject matter of English grammar is relatively timeless; the content does not become obsolete as content can in other disciplines. Furthermore, the examples often are drawn from contemporary life, allowing the students to relate to how the grammatical principles are explained. The commonsense tone of the book also makes what might be considered dry subject matter seem more relevant to the reader. Ideas are explained in a straight-forward way.
Clarity
The grammatical ideas in the book are clear at the same time they are streamlined. There is very little jargon and no theory, and there are no digressions to get in the way of comprehension. The many examples help, too. I also appreciate that the writer isn’t afraid to let the students know what they should NOT do before getting to how they should properly follow a particular grammatical rule. All of this is accomplished clearly and efficiently.
Consistency
One of the best things about the book is its consistency. The chapters are set up in a pattern that becomes familiar and that aids learning. We come to expect the regular chapter sections (including Points for Writers and Exercises), which nicely reinforce the grammatical concepts.
Modularity
The short chapters are helpful given the amount of essential information included. (The type is rather large, too.) The intention seems to be to avoid overwhelming the student with the appearance of too much information on the page in order to make the grammar rules and practices more accessible and to seem less intimidating than in an old-fashioned grammar book. However, the consequence of this layout choice is that there is a lot of white space. It may appear to some as elementary, as if there isn’t enough information on the page, and that it might appear overly simplistic. But there are different ways of looking at the same physical spaces: that same white space may be perfect for today’s students, some of whom may not be used to conventional amounts of text on each page.
Organization/Structure/Flow
Grammatical concepts and examples are well organized. The Points for Writers sections are helpful (for both students and as teaching points), and the exercises are effective, as are the answer keys in the back of the book. The glossary is helpful, too, as is the index.
Interface
One positive aspect of the book is its simplicity of design. It is the opposite of cluttered. There is nothing distracting about the way the content is presented, and there is nothing competing for our attention the way that some textbooks do when cramming in too many graphics, large-type quotes, or “fun facts” that may make learning less effective. Having noted that, the book might benefit from some graphics to accompany the text in order to complement the concise prose.
Grammatical Errors
Fortunately for a grammar book, no errors found.
Cultural Relevance
The examples speak to people from a range of cultural backgrounds. I did not perceive any biases that might require revision. The book isn’t culturally insensitive or offensive, as the author typically is direct in his approach to the grammatical topics. The intention of the author seems to be to teach or reinforce the information in a straightforward, no-nonsense and efficient way.
CommentsI like the tone, including the clever chapter titles (and the puns sometimes employed in the sub-headings) and the author’s friendly approach.





Reviewed by Samuel Hernandez, Instructor, James Madison University on 5/27/20
The book includes all, or nearly all elements of English grammar that can be included in a 300 or so pages book. This book is for those who already know English and wish to speak it better and learn the basic grammatical concepts of the language. read more
Reviewed by Samuel Hernandez, Instructor, James Madison University on 5/27/20
Comprehensiveness
The book includes all, or nearly all elements of English grammar that can be included in a 300 or so pages book. This book is for those who already know English and wish to speak it better and learn the basic grammatical concepts of the language.
Content Accuracy
The book is accurate, correct, and precise for the most part. The book presents a few (two or three) concepts that can be argued by most linguists but the author acknowledges these concepts and lets the reader know that such concepts are topics of debate.
Relevance/Longevity
The text is written in a way that is closely connected and appropriate to today’s culture, society and academic realm. The author uses phrases and idioms that can be relatable to younger readers while maintaining the content clear and free of errors.
Clarity
The content in the text is presented in a coherent and intelligible way with clear examples to explain the technical jargon used in typical grammar textbooks.
Consistency
The framework and terminology does not vary greatly from chapter to chapter. This book is consistent and presents each chapter in a similar manner with a brief introduction, easy to follow examples, variations of the examples, notes for writers and practice exercises to reinforce the content presented.
Modularity
The text is more of a comprehensive list of the most basic and frequently used terms and concepts of English grammar. It is not clear if the chapters can be grouped into modules; it appears that some chapters can be grouped and other cannot.
Organization/Structure/Flow
The concepts are presented in an organized and logical manner. The book first lists the most common and basic concepts of English grammar and then moves to more complex and less common concepts. The table of contents is easy to follow and easy to find. The glossary and index are very helpful and complete.
Interface
There are no significant interface issues in the text. The charts used are easy to follow and ease to read. There are no images to view and almost no navigation problems. In fact, the charts can sometimes be perceived as too simple.
Grammatical Errors
There were no grammar mistakes present and the texts is well written presenting complex ideas in relatable way.
Cultural Relevance
This book describes the grammar of Standard American English and is intended for audiences familiar with the language. The text presents some comments that can be understood from their original cultural background by the intended audience. This book is not offensive or culturally insensitive. There is a brief mention on the inclusive usage of pronouns.
CommentsI enjoyed reading this book and the content is helpful to anyone who wants to improve their writing skills and overall knowledge of the English language. The notes for writers in every chapter makes the content relevant and practical. The exercises keep the reader engaged and allow the reader to monitor their progress. I also like the acronyms used and the writing style of the author.





Reviewed by Sangbok Kim, Instructor, CU Boulder on 7/1/19
It covers all of the eight parts of speech in English grammar, the concepts of a phrase/clause that is composed of parts of speech, and the concepts of syntactic roles (e.g., subject, object). It provides an effective index and glossary. read more
Reviewed by Sangbok Kim, Instructor, CU Boulder on 7/1/19
Comprehensiveness
It covers all of the eight parts of speech in English grammar, the concepts of a phrase/clause that is composed of parts of speech, and the concepts of syntactic roles (e.g., subject, object). It provides an effective index and glossary.
Content Accuracy
The content of the text is sometimes ambiguous although it is error free and unbiased.
Relevance/Longevity
The content of the text is about the grammatical rules of English that could rarely be updated within a short period of time. The rules of a languages does not change within a short period of time.
Clarity
It adopts a narrative style or tone to explain the grammar, which requires less cognitive loads from readers to grasp the concepts of terminologies. However, due to such a narrative style, the text is unnecessarily wordy.
Consistency
It uses consistent terms and keeps the same framework to explain the grammar of English.
Modularity
Because the text has the consistent pattern of explaining concepts, providing examples of the concepts, and providing grammar exercises, the sections and the subsections are easily recognizable without efforts.
Organization/Structure/Flow
It would be better for the textbook to have a preface from the beginning and a study guide. Readers could have hard time to find the underlying logic of the order of the table of contents.
Interface
The text rarely rely on any diagrams/charts that can support readers’ understanding of the content. The tables that the textbook uses are well placed at the right positions.
Grammatical Errors
The textbook is about English grammar, which explicitly explains why there are no grammatical errors.
Cultural Relevance
The textbook is about English grammar. The topic or subject of the content is not related to humans, societies, or cultures at all.





Reviewed by Cathy Carroll , Journalism Instructor, Central Oregon Community College on 6/20/19
The book is quite comprehensive, and has an index and a glossary, too, which increases its user-friendliness. read more
Reviewed by Cathy Carroll , Journalism Instructor, Central Oregon Community College on 6/20/19
Comprehensiveness
The book is quite comprehensive, and has an index and a glossary, too, which increases its user-friendliness.
Content Accuracy
This book's subject matter is completely accurate. (One minor error is a reference to bold typeface when underlining was used instead.)
It is unbiased and makes distinctions throughout regarding casual conversation versus professional writing.
Relevance/Longevity
The only recent update would be how to handle sentence structure around people who identify individually as "they", and other potential issues around clarity in gender pronoun preferences.
Clarity
The text is extremely clear in its explanation of many complex grammatical structures.
Consistency
This book's terminology and framework offer a consistent and easy-to-follow format.
Modularity
Each section of the book is deftly divided into explanations followed by examples and questions, making it effective in its quest to explain scores of grammatical topics.
Organization/Structure/Flow
The grammar topics are presented logically and clearly, making this book an extremely useful resource.
Interface
The text is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, and any other display features that may distract or confuse the reader.
Grammatical Errors
This book about grammar does not have grammatical errors, thankfully.
Cultural Relevance
The book is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. It does make use of examples that are inclusive of women, but does not address other current gender issues regarding preferred pronouns.
CommentsThis book is quite clear and useful, and I plan to use it in my journalism class.
Table of Contents
- Introduction: Grammar? What Grammar?
- 1 Together Forever: Subjects and Predicates
- 2 The Indispensables: Nouns and Verbs
- 3 Get Tense: Verb Tense, Principal Parts, and Irregular Verbs
- 4 Tall, Dark, and Wordsome: Adjectives
- 5 Inevitably, Adverbs
- 6 Among the Prepositions
- 7 You and I and the Personal Pronouns
- 8 You Did What?: Verbs and Their Complements
- 9 All Together Now: Conjunctions, Compounds, and Subordinate Clauses
- 10 Sentencing Guidelines: Building Sentences with Clauses
- 11 Relative Clauses, Which We Need
- 12 I Know That You Know What They Are: Nominal Clauses
- 13 They’re So Dependent: Distinguishing Dependent Clauses
- 14 What, More?: Verbs and Voice, Infinitives, and Passive Complements
- 15 They’re So Common: More on Nouns
- 16 Zowie!: Interjections and the Eight Parts of Speech
- 17 Those Verbing Verbals: Gerunds and Participles
- 18 To Boldly Verb: Infinitives
- 19 What’s That?: More Pronouns
- 20 Many Things: (But no Cabbages or Kings)
- 21 Keeping Those Little Puncs in Line: A Brief Review of Punctuation
About the Book
Brehe’s Grammar Anatomy makes grammar accessible to general and specialist readers alike. This book provides an in-depth look at beginner grammar terms and concepts, providing clear examples with limited technical jargon. Whether for academic or personal use, Brehe’s Grammar Anatomy is the perfect addition to any resource library.
Features:
- Practice exercises at the end of each chapter, with answers in the back of the book, to help students test and correct their comprehension
- Full glossary and index with cross-references
- Easy-to-read language supports readers at every learning stage
About the Contributors
Author
Steven Brehe, Ph.D., is a professor of English at the University of North Georgia. He has been with UNG for over 20 years and has taught Standard English Grammar, History of the English Language, Composition, and Professional and Technical Writing. Dr. Brehe was a contributing author on Contribute a Verse: An Introduction to First Year Composition from the UNG Press. He is a member of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing.