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Copyright Terry Gibson, Updated Jan 2008 |
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. . . . . .Studying?
eYou are welcome to read Grefs, the original versions above,
. . . . . . . . . but please, not to do assignments there.re
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TAKE the TEST?
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The Truly Amazing
GrammarGURU
You believe that? Not likely, but in a world that has
forgotten more than it ever knew, all things are relative.Achieving the Age of Literacy
For hundreds of years in human history the English language struggled to emerge from the Dark Ages where only the scribes and certain clergy.knew how to read and copy scriptures. Beowulf, author unknown, is the earliest written fiction, illegible today except by scholars. Translations do exist, but it was not until the 1200's that another piece of fiction came: The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. In it we can decipher that human nature and motivations have not changed much over millennia.
Considering archaic "Saxon" spelling and vocabulary of Chaucer's
Middle English it is a magnificent achievement that by the 1500's it.could coalesce into the beautifully articulate English of Shakespeare and Milton.
So it continued, for more than four centuries, appreciated by multitudes and easily within the living.memory of this writer!..........
.......................................................................................Return of the Oral Tradition
It was quick but very subtle.
chart
At first the advent of Television fascinated the population. Years passed
and no one noticed that more and more, we watched and listened instead.
of reading for news and entertainment. Fifteen years, that's all it took here.
where I live, for the school system to respond to demands to modernize....
..
Something had to be dropped from the curriculum to make room for new
technology; where tape recorders replaced written record keeping, kids
wrote less. Cassettes, videotapes soon were all needed to be included
in the new Computer literacy. That it added a new visual component to
research when connected to a printer, copying the work of others..
During the almost two generations since.the 1960's when intensive.
formal teaching of Grammar was dropped, we hardly noticed a quietly
surreptitious slide to "anything-goes" acceptance of the oral tradition:.
"spelling doesn't matter if it sounds right."...
....
It has reached a stage where to many, the correct form looks wrong.
It is sad. A beautiful language that took hundreds of years to perfect
will have been eroded in less than half a century to mere utility....
Ta DAA! THE SELF-TEST
Copy the whole thing to notepad, delete the wrong ones.
Click to compare.
What is the difference: its and it's, your and you're, lay and lie?
It's time to give the dog its supper.
Its time to give the dog it's supper.
.Your right if you're answers match these.
You're right if your answers match these.
.The dog lay all day on the floor.
The dog will lie all day on the floor.
Please lay the books on that table.
He lied where he laid the documents.
Chickens lay eggs which lie in the nest, truthfully.
.Two boys went to play ball too.
Too boys went two play ball to.
Too many boys went to play ball.
.Whose going to find who's coat was left?
Who's going to find whose coat was left?
.Give it to me and him.
Give it to him and I.
Between you and I, it is not true.
He is smarter than you and me.
.The flock of geese fly south.
The flock of geese flies south.
.Everyone has their own way.
All have their own way.
.She will not forgive my having to go.
She will not forgive me having to go.
.The difference between us Liberals and the others...
The difference between we Liberals and the others...
.If only he had arrived sooner, he may have saved her
If only he had arrived sooner, he might have saved herFurthermore . . .
Do you know how to avoid mistakes in their choice?
Which (ones) are right?
Find out why, click answers!12 right? I do need an assistant! (Seriously)
--Terry
And, as a writer,
Do you know how to paragraph and punctuate conversation?
In the assignments, using examples, dialogue becomes easy.
(dialog in US )
Not included:
Do you believe plural's need apostrophe's? Some newspapers do!
There are very few words that do. Wait to find which in Part 2.
Later:
Do you feel secure with verb tenses, regular and irregular,
News CTV, "...if only he had arrived sooner, he may have saved her"
Wrong. 'may' means a future possibility; 'might' is the past of 'may' and
obviously since he could not save her, it is already in the past."...a ticket to a Leaf 's game" Michael Moore in his Newsletter Typo?
Maple Leafs is a team name and does not need an apostrophe.
(No one is safe anymore, so we are in good company.)
Hearty thanks if you can spot some good examples!
(Please send and identify speaker and source)Scroll down for answers
Challenge-answers and more information
What is the difference: its and it's, your and you're, lay and lie?Using them in sentences, they are:
It's time to give the dog its supper. It's means 'it is'
You're right if your answers match these. You're means 'you are'
Chickens lay eggs which lie in the nest, truthfully.
Who's going to find whose coat was left? Who's means 'who is'
Two boys went to play ball too. too means also
*Too many boys went to play ball. Correct, adverb telling how 'many'
*With thanks to the sharp eyes of EpistomolusDo you know how to avoid mistakes in their choice?
Which (ones) are right: Give it to me and him.
Right, but perhaps more polite as to him and me. (to me)BUT "he has more money than you and I."
Right. "more than you have, more than I have.
The flock of geese flies south.
Right. The flock flies. Of geese tells us the kind of flock. (not sheep)
Everyone has their own way.
Swan accepts this as correct informally but in formal writing
it should be 'Everyone has his own way. (one is singular) (her)
Avoid it with 'All have their own way.'BUT "she will not forgive my having to go." Heard on CBC.
Rlght. in this one, "having" is a gerund (verb) that acts as a noun,
and like any noun, my hand, my work, my having to go.
Between you and I, he's right.
Wrong. 'Between you and me, he's right.'
"...the difference between we Liberals and the Conservatives..."
said by Paul Martin on CPAC
Likewise 'between us Liberals and the Conservatives.'
Swan agrees after between, it is 'us' because WE would be a subject.
Do you know how to paragraph and punctuate conversation?
In the assignments, using examples, dialogue becomes easy.
Do you believe plural's need apostrophe's?
There are very few that do. Wait to find which in part 2.
Do you feel secure with verb tenses, regular and irregular,
News CTV, "...if only he had arrived sooner, he may have saved her"
Wrong. 'may' means a future possibility; 'might' is the past of 'may' and
obviously since he could not save her, it is already in the past."...a ticket to a Leaf 's game" Michael Moore in his Newsletter Typo?
Maple Leafs is a team name and does not need an apostrophe.
(No one is safe anymore, so we are in good company.)
Hearty thanks if you can spot some good examples!
NEED MORE DETAILS?
Challenge-answers and more information
It's time to give the dog its supper. (It's means it is. Pronoun possessives have no apostrophe.
. . . . . . . . . . . . Remember, in "He found his wallet," we do not put an apostrophe in "his" either.)
You're right if your answers match these. (means you are. Pronoun possessive).
The dog lay all day on the floor. (Yesterday it lay there. Past of verb "lie." )
The dog will lie all day on the floor. ( Future of verb "lie.")
Please lay the books on that table. ( The present form (now) of verb "lay" must have an object.). . . . . . . .
He lied where he laid the documents. ( Past of "to lie", tell untruths, Past of verb "to lay")
Chickens lay eggs which lie in the nest, truthfully.( "lay" must have an object, eggs, to lie is to rest.. . . . .
Two boys went to play ball too (Two, number, to play, infinitive of verb, to is a preposition,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "too" means also, remember it has "too many o's").
Who's going to find whose coat was left? ( Who's means who is. whose Pronoun possessive
He got a ticket to a Leafs game.( This is the name of a hockey team, and does not take an an. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . apostrophe).
Give it to me and him. ( It means to me and to him. ) More polite, Give it to him. and me.
The flock of geese flies south.( The flock flies. of geese tells us that sheep have not sprouted wings.. . .
All have their own way. ( A plural subject needs a plural possessive, One is singular, his, her.).
She will not forgive my having to go. ( "having" acts as a noun, and needs possessive my )
The difference between us Liberals and the others... ( between us and the others ).
If only he had arrived sooner, he might have saved her ( May is present, might is past--
. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . because he did not get there in time, the past is needed,)Scroll Up?
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About the Author
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Author . . . ? |
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TABITHA'S SECRET Series of three short books for Pre-Teens |
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The Old Poetry Group: Kaleidoscope http://www.mattaweb.ca/archive5/kaleimenu.htm |
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