A Limerick To Get Us Started

English is my cup of tea,

For I like proper grammar, you see;

But my friends, with their "ain't"s,

And "got no"s, and "cain't"s,

Ain't got no respect for me!

© Lori F. Dowell, 1984

 

Yes, my friends, the time has come.  I am opening a new journal -- because you can never have too many journals to write in, right?  And none of us can ever have too many journals to read,  right?

This journal has come about because of my love of language, of words, of grammar, of correct sentence structure, of witty phrases -- and because during Eler Beth's recent language arts lessons I've discovered that there are many things grammatical which I had forgotten!

Now DO NOT BE ALARMED!!!  This isn't going to be an English 101 class masquerading as an AOL Journal.  It is going to be fun if I have anything at all to say about it -- and since it's my journal, I do!

I firmly believe that if one is writing in a journal or any piece of personal correspondence general rules of grammar don't have to apply.  In other words, poetic license extends to prose in those instances.  When I read journals, I love knowing that I'm usually reading the way the writer talks or thinks.  It makes it personal and interesting.  In my journal I often begin my sentences with "and" or "but", and I end them with prepositions, too (but believe me it hurts when I do that!).  Donna (Mosie) recently titled an entry "Some Things I Forget To Be Thankful For" and then said that she realized if she'd wanted to be grammatically correct she'd have said "some things for which I forget to be thankful", then she asked "but who talks like that?"  Well, I am ashamed to say that I do -- usually.   Please remember that I have mild OCD, and that is one of the things about which I am compulsive.  So don't think too badly of me, okay?

I've wanted to do this journal for a long time, and I finally decided that I'd start it on January 1.  I want to discuss words -- beautiful, lovely, inspiring words!  I want to discuss lovely phrases, especially archaic phrases that one doesn't hear much nowadays; perhaps words or phrases you may have heard your parents or grandparents using, but don't hear often now.  I want to discuss styles of writing.  I also want to open the journal up for questions and answers.  Do you wonder when it is correct to use "then" and when you should use "than", for example?  Email a question or leave it in the comment thread, and someone will supply the answer.

As I re-teach myself things like when to use an "appositive noun" and the difference between "main" and "subordinate" clauses, etc., I will share that here.  Believe me!  Somewhere there is someone who will like to know!

So please bookmark this journal and come back to visit.  If anyone would like to contribute an entry, just let me know, and I'll make it possible.  Even if the "words" part or the "grammar" part doesn't interest you, come back anyway, because I plan to keep the entries light and fun, even funny at times.  At the very least, read long enough to give me your opinion of it, because I really want to know what others think.

Thanks for reading this far.  Oh, and the limerick at the top of the entry??  During my Senior year of high school our English teacher asked us to write a limerick.  I have written many different types of poems and works of prose, but I had never been able to write limericks to my own satisfaction.  My sister Barbara can rattle one off in fine style, but I never could.  This is my one and only limerick, and I was rather proud of it, if I do say so myself.  It will be the theme for this journal.  I think it starts it out on the right track, don't you?

Tags: English language, words, grammar, writing style