I'm over 30, and I know what a gerund is, though it's not an ideal fit for the English Language, or the rest of the Germanic Languages such as Gothic, German, Icelandic/Old Norse, Old English, or suchlike.
Ah, but then, I taught myself Latin. I also taught myself Classical Greek. What that does for my Geekitude, I don't have the faintest, foggiest notion ... Still haven't taught myself Sanskrit though I've had a good go at learning Prakrit, and only got so far with learning Biblical Hebrew and Classical Arabic ... ;) Ditto for Old Church Slavonic and Aramaic. Not enough hours in the day! Don't believe the hype about school! If they couldn't get you interested, you'll never learn from them. So much depends on two factors - were your teachers dorks? And what sort of reaction did they bring out in you? Just my two cents - inflation, of course! ;) Wesley Parish On Thu, 15 Sep 2005 18:25, Steve Holdoway wrote: > I'm well over 30, and had 17 years of UK education, and nobody ever taught > me grammar. However, even I know that slashdot (link from Nick) need to > learn some... they'll be writing 'a hotel' next (: > > Steve > > On Thu, September 15, 2005 12:59 pm, Roger Searle wrote: > > who over 30 can? i sure can't... > > > > Christopher Sawtell wrote: > >>On Thu, 15 Sep 2005 12:01, Nick Rout wrote: > >>>I regularly receive CV's from Germans looking to spend their three > >>>month "elective" working in a law office in NZ. Their spelling and > >>>grammar are usually perfect. > >> > >>Ah. But they are actually taught the grammar of the English Language in > >> all > >>it's glorious detail as part of of their curriculum. It just doesn't > >> happen > >>in most of the English speaking world. e.g. who under the age of 30 on > >> this > >>list can tell us what a gerund is -- without looking it up. -- Clinersterton beademung, with all of love - RIP James Blish ----- Mau e ki, he aha te mea nui? You ask, what is the most important thing? Maku e ki, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata. I reply, it is people, it is people, it is people.
