Quote:
Originally Posted by eschwartz
As far as I am concerned, well, I don't actually know a lot about grammar. I gave up on it and flew by in English class based on the strength of my vocabulary and because I was still smarter than most of my classmates.
I just don't get the silly rules at all.  Having read a lot, I can speak quite well, thankyouverymuch, but I would be hard-pressed to name most of the rules behind why.
I still don't know what an infinitive is, and am studiously avoiding every opportunity to find out.  |
Knowledge of "formal" grammar is absolutely essential when you start learning
other languages (as an adult, at least - children learn languages differently). I read a number of different languages moderately well, including Latin, ancient Greek, and ancient Egyptian. The people who always struggle on language courses are those who are not equipped with the vocabulary to understand how their own language "works", and hence are unable to understand how other languages achieve the same result.
I'm guessing that you can read Hebrew, echwartz; were you not taught that on the basis of the grammar of the language, or did you learn it by "absorption" as a child?