More than once I have had a student say to me, “It… just… doesn’t… make… sense,” while punctuating each word by banging their head on the table. I do understand their frustration: I feel much the same way about mathematics.
Eventually, English does start to make sense. The problem which then arises is the fear of making mistakes. While one may be brave enough to write a masters’ thesis, is one brave enough to use a semi-colon?
Paul Brians’ Common Errors In English Usage is a great resource to have beside you when trepidation starts to set in. Do you remember when to use “accept” and when to use “except”? Do you understand the difference between “baited breath” and “bated breath”? If not, this is the book for you. Whenever you are feeling brave enough to venture into the depths of the English language, this book will provide reassurance.
This book covers such things as commonly misspelled words, misused expressions, grammar and spelling, and what to do with those annoying accents on French words when you’re writing them in English.
An excerpt of the book is available here, on Google Books, and there is an online version, but I highly recommend heading over to the library or to the bookstore, as this is a most useful resource.