When I was in college, we were sternly told that when we described our lab
work, it should always be in the impersonal and passive voice.  Thus

"Fifty-seven cubic centimeters of water were added to the soil mixture
containing three varieties of petunia seed."

Hey!  Wake up!  No snoring on lace-chat!

I hated writing like that.  Who added that water?  What, did it just
materialize over the soil like a tiny miniature rainstorm?  Godlike,
indeed, if so!

Most of my grammar is self-taught.  The English teacher I had in high
school -- hah!  A woman so boring I can't even remember her name without
searching through my old mildewy yearbook.  She obviously didn't love
teaching English.

I learned far more English puzzling my way through Dickens and Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle, and can remember being in complete sympathy with Amy Carter
bringing a book to a state dinner.


Lynn Carpenter in SW Michigan, USA
alwen at i2k dot com
http://lost-arts.blogspot.com/

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