🚀 go-pugleaf

--
>D M Yoshikami writes:
>Something that I forgot to mention.  One other very good way to learn
>grammar is to take a foreign language such as German or Spanish.  If
>you feel like going for the gusto, take Latin or Greek.  I found
>German to be a bit more utilitarian because English still betrays its
>Germanic roots if you look carefully enough, although it does have
>quite a buncha romance loan words (about 45% of the vocabulary).

How true.  My oldest son is taking his first year of Latin and I am trying 
to help him with it.  (It's only been 25 years since my last Latin class.)  I 
am busy scraping the rust off my memories of grammar.  It is clear that 
he didn't learn his eighth grade grammar.  Now he is forced to learn it in 
the context of another language.  His Latin teacher thinks this is typical.
She believes the students learn more about English grammar than they 
do about Latin.

I agree with those who believe good grammar is important.  For me, the 
purpose of writing is communication.  If I do not make the effort to clearly 
express my ideas, the reader won't waste his time on what I have to say.
Numerous readers have called me after reading one of my magazine 
articles.  I've found they take great delight in nailing you when you've 
made a mistake (grammatical or otherwise).  More frequently, if you are 
clear and focused in your writing, you will hear them ask for more.

*****************************************************************************
*John Williams - jwilliam@stsci.edu      The universe is full of magical *
*Space Telescope Science Institute       things patiently waiting for	  *
*Baltimore, MD.			our wits to grow sharper.	  *