Do We Ever Truly Know Our Grammar
The title of this week's module is "Grammar and the Copywriter." The reading was meant to reinforce grammar rules that I was previously supposed to have already learned. For instance, number fifteen of the "twenty-five most prevalent perplexities and controversies" explains that "'the number of x' takes a singular verb; 'a number of x,' a plural verb (Einsohn 340, 344). The difference between the two phrases is the article. The article literally decides whether the verb is singular or plural. I never learned this. A part of me feels as though I just picked this up from reading. Yet, this is actually something people, authors and editors, struggle with. It made me question whether this is a common problem for me.
Similarly, there was a section on split infinitives that led me to realize just how little I had learned and how little I knew. I thought, "I always wondered what that meant. No one ever taught me this. Is this a problem for me?" Apparently, the prohibition on splitting infinitives came from a desire for English to be like Latin (351). Since the whole premise behind not splitting infinitives is based on a desire to make English similar to another language, one can then question whether this is something that is a rule and should be strictly enforced. The answer to this question is left to the editor. The editor has to catch it and then decide, "Is it better to leave the author's usage of splitting infinitives or to rearrange the sentence so that the infinitive is not split?"
There are many others sections that I found just as interesting and enlightening, especially since I read them right after doing my Spanish grammar schoolwork. We typically do not think about English having a subjunctive form. However, Spanish does have an incredibly tricky subjunctive form. The sections on pronouns and modifiers related directly to my Spanish schoolwork and truly hammered them into me. Yes, I knew what these things were, but not nearly as well as I do now that I learn about them twice.
The principle take away from this grammar section is that sometimes we do not truly know our grammar. I never really had a great deal of instruction about grammar. Yet, I never really got marked off for terrible grammar. I always knew that I did not know the reasons for why I wrote like I wrote or why my grammar seemed to be pretty good. Now I know more about why I write like this and how to write better. I also see that in order to be a better writer, or someday a good editor, I truly need to learn even more about grammar through books and other means of instruction.
Einson, Amy. The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communication. University of California Press, 2011.
Similarly, there was a section on split infinitives that led me to realize just how little I had learned and how little I knew. I thought, "I always wondered what that meant. No one ever taught me this. Is this a problem for me?" Apparently, the prohibition on splitting infinitives came from a desire for English to be like Latin (351). Since the whole premise behind not splitting infinitives is based on a desire to make English similar to another language, one can then question whether this is something that is a rule and should be strictly enforced. The answer to this question is left to the editor. The editor has to catch it and then decide, "Is it better to leave the author's usage of splitting infinitives or to rearrange the sentence so that the infinitive is not split?"
There are many others sections that I found just as interesting and enlightening, especially since I read them right after doing my Spanish grammar schoolwork. We typically do not think about English having a subjunctive form. However, Spanish does have an incredibly tricky subjunctive form. The sections on pronouns and modifiers related directly to my Spanish schoolwork and truly hammered them into me. Yes, I knew what these things were, but not nearly as well as I do now that I learn about them twice.
The principle take away from this grammar section is that sometimes we do not truly know our grammar. I never really had a great deal of instruction about grammar. Yet, I never really got marked off for terrible grammar. I always knew that I did not know the reasons for why I wrote like I wrote or why my grammar seemed to be pretty good. Now I know more about why I write like this and how to write better. I also see that in order to be a better writer, or someday a good editor, I truly need to learn even more about grammar through books and other means of instruction.
Einson, Amy. The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communication. University of California Press, 2011.
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