Ivy English: The teaching of archaic grammar rules - rather than modern grammar

Checkout  today's Ivy English broadcast  including the discussion of misplaced time spent teaching antiquated English - - dinosaur English.

Beyond Beauty: Above Taiwan 看见台湾 - - Haven't seen it? Check out below

Beyond Beauty

Grammar Mavens: Archaic & Deleterious

Today's Ivy League English Broadcast  reveals much about the pragmatics of grammar, especially the deleterious effects of English mavens who though perhaps in English teaching positions, perpetuate archaic English forms much to the frustration of students and colleagues who are in more continuous touch with contemporary English.  National Taiwan University's Karen Chung uses good judgment in striking the balance of when not to be overwhelmed by assertive mavens.   Check it out!

The Benefits of Reading English Novels: Ivy Broadcast 12/9/2015

These last two days have featured some very fine topics and commentary associated with the topic.  Again, make 30 minutes of your day meaningful: buy Ivy English (on my to-do list) and listen to the broadcast (by Internet, if you can;t @ 6:30am)!!     Ivy League Analytical English

Congrats to 9th graders Allen and Joanne in their success with the 1st level of the GEPT Middle-High test!

12/10/2015:  Among other commentary points, learn about using Google translate to aid in your pronunciation of a work in its original language - one of many useful tips by Dr. Karen Chung of NTU, Taiwan:    Dr. Karen Chung: Ivy League Analytical English

Adjectives and Comma Use: Grammar Girl

A favorite blogger of mine is Grammar Girl.  She's got style and verve, and as such has developed quite a following over the years.  Her blog is found at Grammar Girl .

Grammar Girl provides instructive guidance on the use of commas when using adjectives.  I reproduce what she writes below, but if you also want hear her voice, go here:    Commas with Adjectives

Commas with Adjectives:  When do you put commas between adjectives?

 

When you use a string of adjectives, you often separate the adjectives with commas, as in “He is tall, dark, and handsome.” Sometimes, though, you don’t use a comma between two adjectives. 

Coordinate Adjectives Versus Cumulative Adjectives

The comma rule comes down to the difference between two kinds of adjectives: coordinate adjectives and cumulative adjectives. Coordinate adjectives are adjectives in a row that each separately modify the noun that follows (1), as in “heavy, bulky box.” Both “heavy” and “bulky” modify “box.” You can even rearrange the adjectives and say, “bulky, heavy box.”

Cumulative adjectives, on the other hand, don’t separately modify the noun that follows even though they are all stacked up before the noun too (2). Instead, the adjective right before the noun pairs with the noun as a unit, and then adjective before that unit modifies that. An example will make this more clear: In the phrase “exquisite custom houseboat,” “custom” modifies “houseboat”—they become a unit—and then “exquisite” modifies “custom houseboat.”

If you try to rearrange the adjectives as we did for “heavy, bulky box,” you’ll run into a problem. The phrase “custom exquisite houseboat” is awkward, and it’s awkward precisely because you can’t rearrange cumulative adjectives.

Let’s say you have two adjectives in a row before a noun and you’re not sure whether they’re coordinate or cumulative. You can perform a simple test: Add the word “and” between the adjectives. If the phrase makes sense, the adjectives are coordinate; if not, they’re cumulative. For example, “It’s a bulky and heavy box” makes good sense but “It’s an exquisite and custom houseboat” does not.

Here’s a quick review so far: You can rearrange coordinate adjectives, and you can stick an “and” between them. As for cumulative adjectives, neither trick works.

Use Commas When You Could Add an “And”

OK, I can tell—even from far away—that your head is spinning because of this esoteric terminology, when all you really want to know is what do commas have to do with these adjectives? Agreed. You don’t have to remember the names unless you want to impress your friends. Commas are what matter here. 

To determine if we need a comma between two adjectives that precede a noun, we need to return to the “and” test. I’m sure you remember the tall, dark, and handsome man we mentioned at the beginning of the show. You could be wordy and say, “The tall and dark and handsome man.” If you can separate the adjectives with “and,” then you can separate the adjectives with commas. Also, if you can rearrange the adjectives, then you can separate them with commas. We started with “The tall, dark, handsome man,” but “The handsome and tall and dark man” works just as well.

A Comma Can Change the Meaning

Sometimes, a pair of adjectives can be both coordinate and cumulative. Let’s take the adjectives “deep” and “religious” and pair them with the noun “experience.” If we say, “She had a deep, religious experience,” we’re using coordinate adjectives: She had an experience that was both deep and religious (or religious and deep). Now, let’s get rid of the comma: “She had a deep religious experience.” Here, the religious experience was deep. The adjectives are cumulative. Granted, the difference between the two is quite subtle.

Summary and Practice

Just remember that if you can reverse your two adjectives or can place an “and” between them, you need a comma.

And now our interesting, (comma) illuminating lesson has come to a close. Hope you had a grand old time (no comma there).

Answers to the Audio Quiz: 1) It’s an easy five-mile hike. 2) That was a long, hard run. 3) They endured a tough marital situation. 

The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier & Grammar Girl

This article was written by Bonnie Trenga, author of The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier, who blogs at sentencesleuth.blogspot.com, and read in the podcast by Mignon Fogarty, author of the New York Times bestseller, Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.

References

1. Lutz, Gary, and Diane Stevenson. 2005. Grammar Desk Reference, pp. 209-210. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest Books.
2. Lutz, Gary, and Diane Stevenson. 2005. Grammar Desk Reference, pp. 209-210. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest Books.

- See more at: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/commas-with-adjectives?page=1#sthash.75azuoZU.dpuf

- See more at: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/commas-with-adjectives#sthash.FanW0zM9.dpuf