TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:grammar - knowing the rules to break them From:Margie Monforton <MONFORTO -at- EMUVAX -dot- EMICH -dot- EDU> Date:Thu, 7 Dec 1995 15:10:22 -0500
In response to Len, who said that even though
some rules are not used widely anymore, we should know
them to break them...
I took a grammar course this summer in which I learned that
many of the rules of English originated in the Latin
grammatical system. The preposition at the end of the
sentence rule is one of these. In fact, then, this rule
was not formulated for our language. Early English
speakers wanted to sound "educated" and to differentiate
themselves from the "lay person," so they adopted rules of
latin that the average gal wouldn't understand. After hearing
that version of reality, I really began to accept some of
the evolutionary changes in our language as natural and
necessary... Margie.
