Authors Answer 131 – Grammatically Difficult

Then there’s the fact that nouns which refer to multiple individuals as a single unit are mostly singular in American English, mostly plural in British English, and not entirely consistent in either.

I Read Encyclopedias for Fun

English is not an easy language. It’s said to be one of the more difficult languages because of inconsistent spelling/pronunciation rules, irregular verbs, articles, and so on. But do authors find English grammar difficult? Let’s find out!

Question 131 – Which rule(s) of English grammar do you find most difficult?

H. Anthe Davis

I had a rather substandard English grammar education — I never diagrammed sentences and I didn’t know what a gerund was until I learned about it in Spanish class.  I think it was because I went to a weird little private middle school…  But anyway, since I never got rigid training in English grammar, I really just do whatever I want, and damn the rules.  Sure, I tried reading Strunk & White and other such writing advisories back when I was still honing my craft and uncertain of my voice, but adhering to strictures just got in…

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Has the English language become inherently cynical?

I needed to write a description of a character the other day and started with the word “moralistic”, but thought there might be a better word so I looked for synonyms.

It’s possible that I didn’t look hard enough, but as far as I am aware, the English language does not have a single adjective that means either “thinking and talking about morality a lot” (which was what I was looking for) or “advocating moral concepts” that doesn’t either directly suggest hypocrisy, or have a conflicting alternate definition.

Authors Answer 24 – Brushing up on Grammar

I’m a little late to this one.

I Read Encyclopedias for Fun

Authors are expected to be good at language.  Good grammar, good word choice, and good spelling are all very important in a published novel.  But do authors study grammar?  This week’s question was asked by Authors Answer contributor Linda G. Hill.

Question 24: How important is it to you to continue learning and brushing up on basic skills such as grammar? For instance, would you pay to take a course?

S. R. Carrillo

Wow, I’m gonna sound so fulla myself, but I consider myself very well-versed in grammatical conventions. I would not pay for a course. I do, however, ensure I always stay on top of my grammar. It’s always come second nature to me – I used to do editing for years and I’m a pretty vigorous self-editor as well. Grammar is where I excel.

Tracey Lynn Tobin

This question makes me feel a little bad about myself, to…

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