Quote:
Originally Posted by Stitchawl
But for someone who crawls under an RV and adjusts the breaks, ending his written sentences with a preposition should NOT have made a difference.
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Do you mean adjusts the breaks in hoses or adjusts the brakes that stop the vehicle?
I would assume from context that you mean the latter, but it is as reasonable to assume you mean the former and not the latter (or you could mean both). Why should I have to assume or guess? Why not require clarity in communication?
The point is that yes, one needs to put things in context and look beyond the surface. If I'm looking to hire a plumber, I want to hire a well-trained plumber and I do not care whether he can quote Shakespeare. OTOH, it is not sufficient that he be well-trained as a plumber because when he hands me that bill for $1,000, he needs to be able to communicate clearly to me why the bill is so high.
It is easier for people to look beyond to the context than to apply rules of grammar and so rather than trying to learn grammar and master communication skills along with the context skills, they resist learning grammar and rely on context. This can work some of the time, but not all of the time.