Post #126,784
11/19/03 11:24:11 PM
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Do it for her.
Grammar checking is not foolproof. Ever wonder why many of its suggestions are "this may be" or "this could be"? Before Microsoft put it into Word, grammar checking packages included documentation on how it works and when it doesn't. Its suggestions are rarely recommendations and rarely definitive.
Wade.
Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
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Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please
| -- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne. |
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Post #126,825
11/20/03 10:26:31 AM
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I gave her that option
to send it to me after she finishes writing it so I can check it for her in Word 2000.
To be honest, in Grade School I didn't have very good English teachers and they never helped me learn how to correct my mistakes. Not even sure if they cared about it or not. I got picked on a lot in school and it distracted me from learning. This continued on into Junior High and High School, until I finally moved out of the Hazelwood School Disctrict and into a St. Louis Public Magnet School.
"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"
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Post #126,833
11/20/03 12:02:43 PM
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Bad education ( was Re: I gave her that option)
To be honest, in Grade School I didn't have very good English teachers and they never helped me learn how to correct my mistakes. Not even sure if they cared about it or not. I got picked on a lot in school and it distracted me from learning. This continued on into Junior High and High School, until I finally moved out of the Hazelwood School Disctrict and into a St. Louis Public Magnet School. That seems to be a failing of public schools sometimes. I was so good at spelling and vocabulary that they jumped me into an Honor's English Course in High School. Unfortunately, I never learned the basics, Grammar, basic English, punctuation, etc. I spent years making up for that, because they assumed if I was good at two things I was good at all of it. Ah well... Nightowl >8# "The difference between being immature and child-like is that one is what you are, and one is what you choose to be."
Comment by Nightowl {O,O}
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Post #126,844
11/20/03 1:53:03 PM
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Not a failing of public schools
it's a failing of his teachers and perhaps his parents.
I went to public school and I understand English grammar extremely well.
NB - the best way to improve one's grammar (and spelling, and punctuation) is to read a lot of books.
--\n-------------------------------------------------------------------\n* Jack Troughton jake at consultron.ca *\n* [link|http://consultron.ca|http://consultron.ca] [link|irc://irc.ecomstation.ca|irc://irc.ecomstation.ca] *\n* Kingston Ontario Canada [link|news://news.consultron.ca|news://news.consultron.ca] *\n-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Post #126,845
11/20/03 1:58:34 PM
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Re: Not a failing of public schools
it's a failing of his teachers and perhaps his parents. I went to public school and I understand English grammar extremely well. Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that all public schools fail at this. It just seems that several in St. Louis have so far, so maybe I should have said it seems to be a failing of our local schools. NB - the best way to improve one's grammar (and spelling, and punctuation) is to read a lot of books. I used to read all the time and still do, which is probably why I had a college level spelling and vocabulary in 8th grade. :) I agree, that really helps. Nightowl >8# "The difference between being immature and child-like is that one is what you are, and one is what you choose to be."
Comment by Nightowl {O,O}
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Post #126,851
11/20/03 2:15:40 PM
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Failing of teachers and parents
My father is a poor speller, my mother isn't that much better. I never got any help from them on homework anyway, I always had to do it myself and try and teach myself. Teachers never did seem to have an interest in helping me do better in English, only told me that I did it wrong, but not the right way to do it. So I got red pencil and red pens scratching my mistakes, but never what the corrected way would be. I was never encouraged to do better or even helped to learn to do better. Many students were just like me anyway, so it seemed normal for the teachers to do that. We were told that we would never improve and would have bad English skills our whole lives.
"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"
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Post #126,853
11/20/03 2:18:26 PM
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Re: Failing of teachers and parents
Many students were just like me anyway, so it seemed normal for the teachers to do that. We were told that we would never improve and would have bad English skills our whole lives. To some degree, I agree with that, although my mom worked hard with me on my reading and spelling and vocabulary, so I was good at that one. But my grammar was so bad my English teacher told me that I would NEVER become a writer, which infuriated me to no end. When I finally learned grammar later, and got my first poem published, I mailed a copy of it to her with a note, "Never say Never." Nightowl >8# "The difference between being immature and child-like is that one is what you are, and one is what you choose to be."
Comment by Nightowl {O,O}
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Post #126,951
11/20/03 9:17:03 PM
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Like I said
the best way to improve it is to read a lot of good proper english. Read some novels. They are both entertaining and educational (at least, they are if they're actually good novels). Read some Heinlen: his English is impeccable and he's a good storyteller. LOtR is another good one for high entertainment value and great English. Go see some Shakespeare; while it's not the same as Modern English, it's fantastic English, and when performed well his plays are amazing. Go get some Branagh and some Olivier productions of Shakespeare on film; I really liked Olivier's production of Henry V.
When I was learning French, I read French newspapers (Le Journal de Montréal, La Presse, sometimes Le Devoir) every day. It was very slow going at first, but after a year or two I could read almost everything I wanted to at quite a decent clip. It also helped my verbal comprehension a lot, and even my ability to speak because I was getting a handle on how verbs worked.
--\n-------------------------------------------------------------------\n* Jack Troughton jake at consultron.ca *\n* [link|http://consultron.ca|http://consultron.ca] [link|irc://irc.ecomstation.ca|irc://irc.ecomstation.ca] *\n* Kingston Ontario Canada [link|news://news.consultron.ca|news://news.consultron.ca] *\n-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Post #127,034
11/21/03 10:00:39 AM
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Good advice
The more you read, the more you get exposed to the written word, the better you will write.
-----------------------------------------
It is much harder to be a liberal than a conservative. Why?
Because it is easier to give someone the finger than it is to give them a helping hand.
Mike Royko
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Post #126,984
11/21/03 4:35:57 AM
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Actually, Norm, your grammar is quite good.
Coherent, complete sentences; Full agreement in tense and number; Properly punctuated; etc etc. Basically if you can post consistently and frequently the text you do post, then I really doubt you need a grammer checker.
Wade.
Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
| |
Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please
| -- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne. |
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Post #127,048
11/21/03 10:39:38 AM
11/21/03 10:40:09 AM
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Believe me, it is not perfect
just ask CRConrad who is always on my case about my Gramar and Spelling.
Even with Word 2000, I still make mistakes. Sometimes I capitalize when I shouldn't, sometimes I use the wrong word, sometimes I use "Get" and it is supposed to be formal, sometimes I forget to use a Semicolon, etc.
Edit: typo in title.
"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"
Edited by orion
Nov. 21, 2003, 10:40:09 AM EST
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Post #127,233
11/22/03 6:24:33 AM
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Perfect is subjective.
Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
| |
Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please
| -- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne. |
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