Monday, October 28, 2013

Grammar matters? Of course it does but don't get too 'hung up'...

I came across a useful site called "Daily Writing Tips". Among its contents, this one headlined

7 Grammatical Errors That Aren't

by Mark Nichol is worth checking out:

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/7-grammatical-errors-that-aren%E2%80%99t/

I felt that Tip No 2

Never end a sentence with a preposition

tied in nicely with this "grammar joke" (inspired by Native American folklore?) that Tom sent me:

On his 74th birthday, a once-virile man got a gift certificate from his wife. The certificate paid for a visit to a medicine man living on a nearby reservation who was rumoured to have a wonderful cure for erectile dysfunction.

After being persuaded, he went to the reservation, handed his ticket to the medicine man, and wondered what he was in for.

The medicine man handed a potion to him, and with a grip on his shoulder, warned, 'This is  a powerful medicine. You take only a teaspoonful, and then say '1-2-3.'

'When you do, you will become more manly than you have ever been, and you can  perform as long as you want.'

The man was encouraged.  Before he walked away, he  asked, 'How do  I stop the medicine from  working?'

'Your partner must say 1-2-3-4,' the medicine man responded, 'but when she does, the medicine will not work again until the next  full moon.'

He was very eager to see if it worked so he went home, showered, shaved, took a spoonful of the medicine, and then invited his wife to join him in the bedroom.

When she came in, he took off his clothes and said, '1-2-3!'  Immediately, he was the manliest of men.

His wife got excited and began throwing off her clothes too. She then asked him, 'What was the 1-2-3  for?'

And that is why we should never end a sentence with a preposition -- we could end up with a dangling participle. 

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Anyway, there's no need to get too stressed over grammar or that dangling participle. Here's the antidote:

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