Tuesday, January 8, 2008

You don't know how much...

...you don't know until you smack up against something you thought you had covered.

Grammar.

My weak point.

There's a reason people use grammar check. I--for one, can not figure out a dangling participle to save my life. I know enough not to use it, but explaining how it works, how not to use it, and alternative methods. Did I mention my teeth hurt?

And possessives. And clauses and semi-colons.

My strengths are in content and flow. Structure. Yeah, I can do that. The why and the what, and how much AMP it takes to bang through a chapter. I uhm....ordered another book. On grammar. I can't wait for it to get here.

They call it a learning curve, 'cause you know--it's gotta start somewhere.

5 comments:

Jeanna said...

What's the book? I always need help in that area and it always surprises people. I'm sending myself to a remedial grammar class next week.

Anonymous said...

I do just fine diagramming my sentences, but I still put my commas in the wrong places. You have my sympathy.

Anonymous said...

That reminds me, have you been here yet?

http://edittorrent.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

It's called Errors in English and Ways to Correct them, by Harry Shaw. If the excerpts I've seen are from his book--I've got to have it. It's not just pragmatic, it's easy to understand.

And lol--remedial grammar. I wanted to take the adult learning center course last year, but never got around to it. Maybe the book is better.

And thanks, Alice. Headed over there now...

Unhinged said...

I've never been good at grammar or spelling, and I still remember the hell of sentence diagraming in English class that year. Once, my teacher took a long-winded sentences I'd written for an assignment, put it up on the chalkboard (chalk board?), then asked the class for help to diagram it. My head must've heated up another five degrees. I was SO EMBARRASSED.

I really don't know diddly about riding. I just rite.