Most of the English grammar books I ordered have arrived and I am starting to go through them. On Monday I’ll begin the on-line course I signed up for (internal link); right now I am working through a book called Better Grammar in 30 Minutes a Day. Although I am having difficulty with the exercises, even with identifying verbs, I scored a minor victory this morning when I noticed a typographical error in the book. Click on the image to see how they wrote “Principle” in the heading instead of “Principal.” So, although the lessons are difficult, I think finding this error shows I am closely reading the material.
I’m also finding support in my struggle with grammar from grammarians. They, too, wrestle with a subject so vast as to appear overwhelming. Robert Burchfield, in Unlocking the English Language, writes: “An entirely adequate description of English grammar is still a distant target and at present a seemingly an unreachable one, the complications being what they are.”
July 19, 2015 UPDATE: This wonderful page (external link) explains the difficulty with finding verbs in sentences and then gives great advice on how to find them.
July 20, 2015 UPDATE: Found another typo in another English book. The word should be “your.”
