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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 3242538" data-attributes="member: 177">Why thank you!&nbsp; You've just allowed me to realize something...One of the most used and referenced books on English grammar is Strunk &amp; White's Elements of Style.&nbsp; Note it isn't elements of &quot;rules&quot;, but &quot;style&quot;.&nbsp; Frequently, the &quot;rules&quot; we are getting up in arms about violating or not are really style guidelines.&nbsp; We're taught the Pirate's Code of grammar <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />The thing is, frequently we are taught beyond mere technical correctness - we are concerned with details beyond that, to what will be found acceptable later in life, in the professional and adult world.&nbsp; Just as a kid can't wear jeans and a T-shirt to most higher job interviews, they can't write in a slapdash manner either.&nbsp; We want our kids to be able to write well, so that they can get jobs, and be taken seriously.&nbsp; So, they get taught what the should do, rather than only what they must do.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 3242538, member: 177"] Why thank you! You've just allowed me to realize something... One of the most used and referenced books on English grammar is Strunk & White's [i]Elements of Style[/i]. Note it isn't elements of "rules", but "style". Frequently, the "rules" we are getting up in arms about violating or not are really [i]style guidelines[/i]. We're taught the Pirate's Code of grammar :) The thing is, frequently we are taught beyond mere technical correctness - we are concerned with details beyond that, to what will be found acceptable later in life, in the professional and adult world. Just as a kid can't wear jeans and a T-shirt to most higher job interviews, they can't write in a slapdash manner either. We want our kids to be able to write [i]well[/i], so that they can get jobs, and be taken seriously. So, they get taught what the should do, rather than only what they must do. [/QUOTE]

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