Grammar and style
At IUSB, some iffy tutoring requests.
An adult student wishes me to review one of her Facebook posts. Is it my job to do this? I’m not sure. But I do do it; I tell her I’m glad she’s getting help with her writing.
This opens up Pandora’s Box. Next shift, a guy asks for help to write a text message. A text message.
“I need to know if the grammar is exactly right,” he says.
“It’s a text message,” I tell him. “The convention is to take shortcuts with the grammar.”
“I’m very concerned about using proper grammar. I need you to advise me about the semicolons.”
Indeed, there are many semicolons in his brief text message.
“Each of them is grammatical,” I explain. “But, stylistically, it’s odd to have so many in such a short passage. I would keep this one” – this is stretching the limits of good advice, but he seems extremely fond of his semicolons – “and change these others into periods.”
He is grateful to be told something.
“On the other hand,” (once I get going, it isn’t easy to stop) “grammatically, this passage, here, isn’t a complete sentence. But stylistically that’s all right because sentence fragments are allowed in text messages.”
The light bulb goes on. Grammar isn’t style. We may have accomplished something, after all.
After work, I go to Karin’s apartment. “Bad news,” Karin says. “When we get married, we’re going to have to find somewhere else to live. My landlord has a friend he wants to rent the downstairs to.”
Fair enough.
“Oh, and after he told me that, he found out that you do go to work. ‘John-Paul has a job?’ he said. ‘He has two jobs,’ I informed him.”
“I wish you’d told him earlier. All this time, he’s been assuming I’m a deadbeat.”
“Well, he may not have assumed,” Karin says. “He may have heard it from my dad.”
“I should ask my bosses to write some recommendation letters to your dad.”
“Yes,” says Karin. “Your bosses seem to like you.”
An adult student wishes me to review one of her Facebook posts. Is it my job to do this? I’m not sure. But I do do it; I tell her I’m glad she’s getting help with her writing.
This opens up Pandora’s Box. Next shift, a guy asks for help to write a text message. A text message.
“I need to know if the grammar is exactly right,” he says.
“It’s a text message,” I tell him. “The convention is to take shortcuts with the grammar.”
“I’m very concerned about using proper grammar. I need you to advise me about the semicolons.”
Indeed, there are many semicolons in his brief text message.
“Each of them is grammatical,” I explain. “But, stylistically, it’s odd to have so many in such a short passage. I would keep this one” – this is stretching the limits of good advice, but he seems extremely fond of his semicolons – “and change these others into periods.”
He is grateful to be told something.
“On the other hand,” (once I get going, it isn’t easy to stop) “grammatically, this passage, here, isn’t a complete sentence. But stylistically that’s all right because sentence fragments are allowed in text messages.”
The light bulb goes on. Grammar isn’t style. We may have accomplished something, after all.
After work, I go to Karin’s apartment. “Bad news,” Karin says. “When we get married, we’re going to have to find somewhere else to live. My landlord has a friend he wants to rent the downstairs to.”
Fair enough.
“Oh, and after he told me that, he found out that you do go to work. ‘John-Paul has a job?’ he said. ‘He has two jobs,’ I informed him.”
“I wish you’d told him earlier. All this time, he’s been assuming I’m a deadbeat.”
“Well, he may not have assumed,” Karin says. “He may have heard it from my dad.”
“I should ask my bosses to write some recommendation letters to your dad.”
“Yes,” says Karin. “Your bosses seem to like you.”