It’s been a couple of years now that my mom has sent me clippings from the Edmonton Journal of Alan Rutkowski’s column “Grammar Gaffes”. My brother & I no longer take offence to my mother’s endless grammar corrections. In fact, Tommy even admitted that he corrects others & thinks of Ma every time*haha*. My mom managed to find his book and send it my way. Admittedly, it’s been on my shelf for some months- not really inviting is it- “Polish your language skills?” Sounds daunting to me. I pulled it off the shelf last weekend, & though I’ve only found time to read a few pages- I’m convinced this guy is a genius. Who knew someone could make learning English grammar interesting?
He starts out with a joke…and from there- things only get better (for real)!
There’s a joke about two women sitting on a plane. One of them, a Texan, turns to the other & asks “Where are you all from?” The woman looks at her & answers disdainfully, “I’m from a place where people don’t end sentences with prepositions.” The Texan smiles and says, “Oh. Well then, where are you all from, Witch?” Who doesn’t side with the Texan? (P.2)
Can someone give this guy an award? Priceless.
And please, don’t all start correcting my grammar up here…I’ve made a quotation from page two, not page 80.
He starts out with a joke…and from there- things only get better (for real)!
There’s a joke about two women sitting on a plane. One of them, a Texan, turns to the other & asks “Where are you all from?” The woman looks at her & answers disdainfully, “I’m from a place where people don’t end sentences with prepositions.” The Texan smiles and says, “Oh. Well then, where are you all from, Witch?” Who doesn’t side with the Texan? (P.2)
Can someone give this guy an award? Priceless.
And please, don’t all start correcting my grammar up here…I’ve made a quotation from page two, not page 80.
Special aside: Thanks for Al’s birthday card Auntie Nada- it made it early! (That’s got to be a record). And rumour has it you’ll be visiting??!!
Would you happen to know if the Grammar Gaffes book is still avaliable for purchase or where I could buy it?
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah -
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of Alan Rutkowski's column, too. I didn't know that he had ever published a book (I once actually emailed him and asked if he'd written any books, to which he replied "no" - but we may have miscommunicated, somehow).
I'd love to know where your mom found the one she sent you.