3 ms·
I think the last paragraph of the article demonstrates that he believes such a thing does not exist.
by houseabsolute 17y ago
I think the last paragraph of the article demonstrates that he believes such a thing does not exist.
- kqr2 17y agoIt is much too important to be reduced to a bunch of trivial don't-do-this prescriptions by a pair of idiosyncratic bumblers who can't even tell when they've broken their own misbegotten rules. He says that grammar can't be reduced to a bunch of trivial rules, but that doesn't mean there can't be a good alternative to Strunk & White for teaching grammar to students.
- gjm11 17y agoElsewhere (on the excellent "Language Log" blog) he recommends two books: for grammar/usage, the Merriam-Webster Concise Dictionary of English Usage; for style, Joseph Williams's "Style: toward clarity and grace". The first recommendation I ever saw for Williams's book, FWIW, was from Richard Gabriel (founder of Lucid Inc., author of the paper commonly but misleadingly known as "worse is better" and of "Patterns of Software", and these days concentrating on poetry rather than software).
- elblanco 17y agoI think it's more that none of the commonly or widely accepted guides to grammar offer advice that is correct.