I was recently accused of having my grammar “in place” by a senior editorial person of an international magazine over the phone. So I quickly tried to hide my surprise and a chuckle by pretending to agree with her. Honestly, even after a first class in MA in English and a decade of being a professional writer and sub-editor, I never thought of having my grammar perfectly in place. I just go with the flow.
I’m guessing that a lot of people pass out of school wondering what P. C. Wren and H. Martin were going on about; the little minds of pubescent boys and girls are busy contemplating acne.
Anyhow, I still can’t get my brains around it. I feel the same way writer Lynne Truss does about the subject. I remember struggling to unsuccessfully stifle my laughter on a BEST bus a few years ago when I came across a line while reading her Eats, Shoots & Leaves: ‘To me a subordinate clause will for ever be one of Santa’s little helpers.’ The more I thought of it, the more I let out a laugh. And the fact that I was traveling alone didn’t help.
Maybe learning grammar is like learning to play music – you learn the notes first and then you play by ear. In any case, I’m glad that Subordinate Clause doesn’t care if you’ve been a good kid. Or not.
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