I was so relieved when Benjamin Dreyer confessed. "When I started out as a copy editor, I realized that most of what I knew about grammar I knew instinctively.” I was not alone!
He won my heart by adding, "Even now I'd be hard-pressed to tell you what a nominative absolute is, I think that the word "genitive" sounds vaguely smutty, and I certainly don't know, or care to know, how to diagram a sentence. I hope I'm not shocking you."
We did diagram sentences in junior high....in 1965... Don't ask me how to do that now.
In school, I often got an A for content and a C for grammar and spelling. I never did learn to touch type with accuracy, and any proficiency I had gained in spelling has disappeared.
I often said that I came out of Temple University knowing how to read intelligently. I was quite unemployable and ended up in customer service and sales.
When I got a job as a copywriter/copyeditor in promotion for a small publishing house (I had worked for a former employee and my new boss thought I had learned her skills through osmosis), I worked hard to correct my errors by reading grammar books. My coworker and I had many heated discussions about how to write; she was a grammar nerd.
Later in life, while schooling our son, my family all were writing and we would critique each other. I had become a member of the dreaded 'grammar police' and oversensitive to bad writing habits.
I took short-term editing jobs and people hated me. I edited a manuscript for a self-published author who appreciated my insight and gave me double our agreed on price.
Well, that was a long time ago. I had thrown out my ragged grammar books before a move. Now, I needed a refresher course. And hearing so many good things about Dreyer's English, bought an ebook.
What a treasure! So much useful information, shared in such an entertaining way! A joy to read!
I now understand why I never know if I should use gray or grey. My history of reading British writers had me totally confused.
I am very grateful.
Learn more at
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/232363/dreyers-english-by-benjamin-dreyer/
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