Great Grammar

Great Grammar

If you can spot the differences between the passages above and below, thank your English teacher (and John Hodges).

The Harbrace Handbook of English recently celebrated its 70th anniversary. You probably recall your papers being marked with cryptic notations referencing Harbrace rules. What you may not know is that the Harbrace Handbook, the best selling college textbook ever, was born in Knoxville. UT English professor John Hodges was its author, and it was first published in 1941. Decades later, instructors who face mountains of papers to grade still use the handbook to spot and mark mistakes.

The name John Hodges likely sounds familiar to many of you, as he is the namesake of the Knoxville campus main library. Today the Harbrace is edited and updated by Cheryl Glenn of Penn State and Loretta Gray of Central Washington University.