Craig Froehle has written on 8/16/2010 10:24 AM: > It isn't just adverbs that we're losing. Simple, basic grammar and proper > punctuation are becoming ever more scarce. > > When I teach undergrads, I often give them a quick, 11-question grammar > quiz, just to get a sense of their writing abilities. > > In 5 years, only one student got all 11 questions correct...and he was from > Romania! > > As my sister, who is a grade school teacher, points out, a general shift to > "whole language" English education about 15 years ago in American schools > has created a vast chasm of ignorance to open up. For example, no longer > are sentences diagrammed, so understanding the relationships among nouns, > verbs, adverbs, prepositions, etc. is all the more difficult. >
Don't forget the "verbization" of nouns! > It really is sad. > Of course, Shakespeare probably said the same thing. :-) The one thing constant about language is that it evolves. -- Pete Holsberg Columbus, NJ Always borrow money from a pessimist. He doesn't expect to get it back! - Anon
