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For Writers

 Benjamin Dreyer's totally charming book about writing mechanics, "Dreyer's English," has a few things going for it:

*Dreyer writes that Cole Porter was generally excellent with English, but he once included this error: "One of those bells...that now and then rings...." The correct phrase would be: "One of those bells that now and then ring....." Lena Horne made the correction, even though this fucked with the rhyme scheme.

*Dreyer has thoughts on: "If I WAS...." vs. "If I WERE....." I won't go into the details; I'm just happy there's someone out there thinking about this matter.

*Also, Dreyer poses a question. Let's say you want to announce yourself. "It is I who am here." Really? Or: "It is I who is here." Hmmm....Dreyer has the right solution. The right thing to do is write: "I'm here."

I don't know that I need to read 250 pages on English mechanical/stylistic matters--a little bit goes a long way--but I was a fan of Dreyer's voice, this past week. I liked that someone worries over "how to make a possessive out of Donald Trump, Jr." (Think about this. "The Storm Hit Donald Trump, Jr.,'s House" --?) Four of five stars. Recommended.

P.S. Dreyer also asks: "blow job" or "blow-job" --? Neither, I guess. It's "blowjob."
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