Witches and wizards found in fantasy literature reveal themselves as magical not only through their actions and outward appearances but also through their speech. In The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Gandalf adorns his head with a pointy gray hat and carries a wooden staff. The witches in Whispering to Witches by Anna Dale dress in black and send messages on [Read Full Article...]
The English language changed dramatically with the introduction of the printing press into England in 1476 because of the development of a written form made possible by wide-spread printing (Smith “Early”). Not until roughly five hundred years later at the end of the twentieth century with the advent of the computer and the Internet would technology again significantly impact the [Read Full Article...]
Prescriptive Rule for Relative Pronouns According to the prescriptive grammar rule, the relative pronoun who should be used for people, and the relative pronoun that should be used for places and things. But why? I, as a native English speaker, say and hear both the person who and the person that. The difference to me and most native English speakers [Read Full Article...]
Ain’t Ain’t a Word The question of “what is a word” is not a matter of making appearances in prestigious dictionaries (which, by the way, ain’t has two, albeit small entries in the Oxford English Dictionary) but rather a matter of use. If even one English speaker says or writes ain’t, then ain’t is a word. And, thousands upon thousands [Read Full Article...]
English Pronouns Most native English speakers can recall (with some trepidation) the days of fill-in-the-blank grammar exercises. Consider with me the following sentences: A good student always turns ___ homework in on time. One should always wash ___ hands before eating. Apparently someone called for you; ___ asked you to call ___ back. According to the prescriptive grammars dictating the [Read Full Article...]
Prescriptive Grammar Rule for Infinitives To split the infinitive or to not split the infinitive, that is the question. Prescriptive grammars forbid the splitting of infinitives. Most English speaking students have been told by the grade school or high school grammar teacher to never split an infinitive. Even in college, I have had professors chastise me for splitting my infinitives. [Read Full Article...]
Prescriptive Grammar Rule for Prepositions What is up with the English grammar rule “do not end sentences with prepositions”? I clearly remember my grade school grammar teachers drilling this rule into my head. Marooned prepositions, stranded prepositions, whatever term you use, prepositions without complements were expressly forbidden. However, as all native English speakers know, prepositions are perfectly acceptable words to [Read Full Article...]