Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
It certainly makes you more "aware" of language use, I think. Eg, you perhaps stop and think about where and when it's appropriate to use the subjunctive, to name but one example.
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It could be argued that this makes things worse for you as a reader. To be ignorant of when it's appropriate to use the subjunctive (to follow just one example) means you are not so put out when someone does it wrong.
Quote:
Originally Posted by VydorScope
Yes. The same way learning better breathing patterns and foot placement helps a runner. It is not something you think about much while you do the activity, but it becomes an integral part of the activity.
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Which only works - it seems to me - if you do indeed spend your life involved in writing and critical review (this latter would appear to be an important factor if actually understanding the many technicalities of grammar is going to be achieved).
Some rules certainly do start to sink in a mere few years of active writing, but I know that a great many are beyond me even now - and I don't think I'm alone. For example Harry's example of subjunctive was one that I had to look up for a refresher - I'd heard the term before but could not have given any examples of what it meant. I like to think that years of reading, and writing for non-pleasurable purposes, may have led me to use acceptable grammar, but whether I'm technically correct or not I'm never going to know, because I have trouble understanding the rules even after reading the explanation.
