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Karl and Ally slam "deplorable” private schoolboys’ messages

<p dir="ltr"><em>Content warning: This article contains disturbing content, including references to Child Sexual Abuse (CSA).</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Karl Stefanovic has called out the behaviour of several students from Sydney private school Knox Grammar, after highly offensive messages sent by the boys emerged.</p> <p dir="ltr">The school launched an internal investigation and expelled several students who were involved, with the messages exposed and referred to NSW Police.</p> <p dir="ltr">Messages obtained by the <em><a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/dangerous-knox-grammar-students-violent-racist-homophobic-hate-group/news-story/75849a3dd28d46d6b71ba080f2f9ed6a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Telegraph</a></em> were sent by students with usernames such as “n*****removalservice” and “Fa**othater3000” and contained a mix of racist, misogynistic, and anti-Semitic sentiments.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Hitler is always stay in my heart… Heil Hitler,” one message read.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I hate fems, I hate gays, jews, people who don’t play fortnite, furries, n*****s, I love titties, feet abortion, rape, drugs,” read another.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-c133e499-7fff-d94f-8750-f41933ec35a1"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“Silly ‘pro choicers’ think women’s rights matter … I only hate children and wish for them to die, take them out at the source,” a third read.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/gross-messages.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>A series of messages sent between students in a private group chat contain anti-Semitic, racist, and homophobic sentiments, as well as references to abusing children. Image: The Daily Mail</em></p> <p dir="ltr">The students used Discord, an encrypted messaging app, to send the messages in a group called “Gang Gang”, which Stefanovic described as “sick” and “deplorable” before going on to call out the school’s response.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think this is deplorable. The school should be run over the coals,” he began.</p> <p dir="ltr">“If I’m a parent at the school, I’m pulling my kid out.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think this is one of the most disgusting and deplorable things I have seen.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The Today show host said that although “boys will be boys” - a phrase that comes from a <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/unteaching-boys-will-be-boys/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Latin proverb</a> that “children are children and do childish things” - what these students did went “way too far”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“They need to be absolutely pulled over the coals, these kids,” Stefanovic said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“How do we expect these boys to grow up and respect women when they are circulating this sort of rubbish around themselves.</p> <p dir="ltr">“And they take that into the workplace and the culture continues. I mean, it needs to be eliminated and eliminated now.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s just disgusting what we read this morning. It makes you sick.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Co-host Ally Langdon also shared her disgust at the “revolting” messages.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Some of this stuff is downright revolting,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think sometimes it can be dismissed as boys will be boys but what was read and what was posted on this site was so offensive it takes it to a whole new level.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The group chat, which was believed to have been created about two years ago, also contained disturbing videos of young men appearing to be raped or assaulted, as well as comments about wanting to rape children and being a paedophile.</p> <p dir="ltr">Crime reporter Mark Morri, who was alerted to the chat room’s content by a source, has since passed on material from the group chat to the NSW Police Child Abuse and Sex Crimes unit.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Even if they see no criminality or come back saying that it is in fact over-the-top teenage behaviour, I’m very comfortable in exposing this because I think every parent in every school should know that impressionable teenagers are dabbling in a secret and dark world that we have to address,” he <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/it-was-next-level-why-i-went-to-the-police-over-knox-chat-room/news-story/61648f88ea5de2f1fbf52b7b15031bb7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">A spokesperson from Knox Grammar told <em><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11166549/Today-shows-Karl-Stefanovic-slams-Knox-Grammar-students-secret-chatroom-messages.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Mail</a></em> that the students had been expelled and are now “trying to settle in at other schools”.</p> <p dir="ltr">In a letter sent home to parents last week, Knox Headmaster Scott James said the students had posted “inappropriate messages and engaged in offensive community in private chat rooms”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The nature of these posts is contrary to the values and culture of Knox and is unacceptable,” the letter read.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The actions of these boys do not reflect a Knox education or the expectations that we place on our students to be respectful and responsible citizens in the community.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-074df519-7fff-ba05-2599-cf1bcaae58ad"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Mr James said the students’ punishment varied depending on their participation, from being suspended to leaving the school, and had all been to counselling and taken part in lessons “to reiterate the importance of respectful and appropriate behaviour as well as the impact of their choices”.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/knox-letter.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="1001" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Knox Grammar Headmaster Scott James wrote to parents about the behaviour and asked them to speak with their sons about how they act on social media. Image: The Daily Telegraph</em></p> <p dir="ltr">The letter also revealed that the group chat included doctored photos of images taken during school activities, which have been discussed with the families of identifiable students and police.</p> <p dir="ltr">“To be very clear, the doctored images do not require mandatory reporting under child protection requirements, and we have discussed the matter with Police,” the letter said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Parents were asked to speak to their sons about using social media and acting respectfully “whether on line or in person”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Forensic psychologist Tim Watson-Munro said the content was deeply disturbing and that “it gives off a feeling of a club or even a cult”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Obviously there is an aspect of, perhaps, teenage boys trying to outdo each other by trying to post the most outrageous comments. But there is also some very dangerous aspects to this behaviour,” he told the <em>Telegraph</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Constant talk and exposure to these themes can lead to desensitisation. If someone is a bit unhinged in this group it could cause them to act out in reality some of the violent themes which have been spoken about in the posts.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Watson-Munro said social media and chat rooms have power and influence over young people that pose major challenges for schools, parents, and broder society, and called on parents to be aware and proactive with their children.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Parents do have to be aware of what their children are accessing on their computers and schools have to also be proactive in how they police and educate their charges,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s very different to what any previous generation has seen in regards to exposure of pornography, violence and other anti-social behaviour.’’</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>If you or anyone you know needs immediate mental health support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 224 636, or visit <a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/">lifeline.org.au</a> or <a href="https://www.beyondblue.org.au/">beyondblue.org.au</a>.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em><span id="docs-internal-guid-b251cbfc-7fff-eeb7-bdce-6d8a868eb40b"></span></em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: The Today Show</em></p>

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British coin sparks grammar controversy

<p>Britain’s new 50 pence coin has sparked debate after a renowned author pointed out the absence of a certain punctuation mark on the piece.</p> <p>On January 31, the Royal Mint launched three million coins with the slogan “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations” to mark the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.</p> <p>Novelist Philip Pullman called for a boycott against the new coin ahead of its release, citing what he perceived as a grammatical error.</p> <p>“The ‘Brexit’ 50p coin is missing an Oxford comma, and should be boycotted by all literate people,” Pullman wrote on Twitter.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">The 'Brexit' 50p coin is missing an Oxford comma, and should be boycotted by all literate people.</p> — Philip Pullman (@PhilipPullman) <a href="https://twitter.com/PhilipPullman/status/1221365577157087232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>The <em>Times Literary Supplement </em>editor Stig Abell also wrote, “The lack of a comma after ‘prosperity’ is killing me.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Not perhaps the only objection, but the lack of a comma after “prosperity” is killing me. <a href="https://t.co/ZCN6Zt45cH">pic.twitter.com/ZCN6Zt45cH</a></p> — Stig Abell (@StigAbell) <a href="https://twitter.com/StigAbell/status/1221405487725453312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>According to the Associated Press, Oxford commas should be used whenever necessary to clarify.</p> <p>“We say: If omitting a comma could lead to confusion or misinterpretation, then use the comma. But: If a comma doesn’t help make clear what is being said, don’t use it. ‘The flag is red, white and blue’ is clear.”</p> <p>Writing for <span><a href="https://theconversation.com/comma-again-philip-pullmans-oxford-comma-rage-doesnt-go-far-enough-130699"><em>The Conversation</em></a></span>, Associate Professor Roslyn Petelin of the University of Queensland’s School of Communication and Arts said the absence of Oxford comma is not the coin’s only shortcoming.</p> <p>“Does ‘Peace with all nations’ make grammatical sense? No. Does ‘Prosperity with all nations’ make grammatical sense? No,” Petelin wrote.</p> <p>“As admirable … as Pullman might be in advocating for the use of the Oxford comma on the coin, it’s clear this coin has committed more than one crime against the rules of grammar.”</p>

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Affect or effect?: How to use the terms

<p><span>It is one of the most popular conundrums in the English language. Choosing between the word “affect” and “effect” can indeed be confusing – they are both verbs and nouns, and their meanings overlap.</span></p> <p><span>To help quash any doubt, there is a simple trick. In most contexts, the acronym RAVEN – Remember Affect Verb, Effect Noun – can be applied.</span></p> <p><span>Affect is more often used as a verb, meaning to influence, produce a change, make a difference in something. For example, bad habits <em>affect </em>your health, an argument <em>affects </em>your relationship, and a nightmare will <em>affect </em>your mood. </span></p> <p><span>Effect is generally used as a noun, meaning a result or a consequence. The group warns of the <em>effects </em>of climate change. Cycling has positive <em>effects</em> on your health. The <em>effect</em> of the policies has been overwhelming.</span></p> <p><span>The word can also be used as part of phrasal verbs, such as take <em>effect</em> (rather than <em>affect</em>) and in <em>effect</em>. For example, the new rule may take effect soon and once it does, it is in effect.</span></p> <p><span>Keep in mind that some exceptions apply – affect can be used as a noun, and effect can be used as a verb. In the noun context, affect means a feeling or an emotion: “My friend has a sad affect”. Effect as a verb could be defined as to bring about or cause something to happen: “The government is unable to effect any change”, or “The tax cut is hoped to effect economic growth”.</span></p> <p><span>These cases are less common, but it is good to understand how the two words can be used in different ways.</span></p>

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The only ways you should be using a semicolon

<p>A semicolon, the hybrid between a colon and a comma, is often considered one of the more pompous punctuation marks.<br /><br />In reality, it gets a bad rap just because few people know how and when to use it.<br /><br />The semicolon is used to indicate a pause, usually between two main clauses, that needs to be more pronounced than the pause of a comma.<br /><br />So what are the practical ways to implement this little grammatical workhorse?<br /><br />Read on to see how it can help you merge connected thoughts, separate listed items clearly, and form a bridge to another sentence.</p> <div class="view view-article-slider view-id-article_slider view-display-id-article_slider_block view-dom-id-6bf7c0c1a8ea5882f1134b90914e692a"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-title field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"><strong>Why use a semicolon?</strong></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>In the classic grammar and style manual <em>The Elements of Style</em> by William Strunk and E.B. White (first published in 1919), the case for the semicolon is laid out clearly: “If two or more clauses, grammatically complete and not joined by a conjunction, are to form a single compound sentence, the proper mark of punctuation is a semicolon.”</p> <p>In simpler terms, that means you can use a semicolon to separate two complete sentences that are related but not directly linked by a connecting word like “but” or “so.”</p> <p>For example: “She didn’t show up to work today; she said she had a headache.”</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-title field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"><strong>Who uses semicolons?</strong></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>The short answer: copy editors, professional writers, and you - if you’re savvy.</p> <p>“If words are the flesh and muscle of writing, then punctuation is the breath, and a good writer will make good use of it,” says Benjamin Dreyer of Penguin Random House, author of the forthcoming book Dreyer’s English.</p> <p>The semicolon is one of his favorite pieces of punctuation, and it was one of America’s great authors, Shirley Jackson, who inspired the admiration.</p> <p>“Shirley Jackson loved her semicolons,” says Dreyer.</p> <p>“I think that’s all the defense they need."</p> <p>"The first paragraph of The Haunting of Hill House - one of the great opening paragraphs I can think of - includes three of them.”</p> <p>Here is Jackson’s sublime first paragraph: “No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against the hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-title field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"><strong>Why use a semicolon instead of a comma?</strong></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>According to Dreyer, “independent sentences don’t hang together well with commas, unless they’re as terse as ‘He came, he saw, he conquered,'” he explains.</p> <p>“For anything of greater length, a semicolon is simply better, stronger glue than a comma, while a period is too divisive.”</p> <p>It’s also grammatically incorrect to link two complete sentences using a comma; a semicolon acknowledges that they’re two complete sentences, even if they are related.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-title field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"><strong>How to use a semicolon</strong></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>It helps to think of a semicolon as sort of a soft period.</p> <p>“Semicolons provide the right link between two essentially independent thoughts that one wants to present as just shy of independence,” explains Dreyer.</p> <p>According to <em>yourdictionary.com</em>, “[The semicolon] shows a closer relationship between the clauses than a period would show.”</p> <p>Here’s an example: David was getting hungry; he suddenly regretted skipping breakfast.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-title field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"><strong>How to use a semicolon in a list</strong></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>In lists, we generally use commas to separate the items.</p> <p>For example, at the market, I’ll be picking up yogurt, blueberries, and coffee.</p> <p>However, sometimes there are lists that contain commas, so it gets confusing unless you separate those items using semicolons.</p> <p>For example, at the market, I’ll be picking up yogurt, which I know needs to be organic; blueberries, because they’re in season and on sale; and coffee, so Daddy will actually be able to wake up in the morning.</p> <p>Semicolons keep the items in the list neatly contained, so your meaning is always clear.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-title field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"><strong>How to use a semicolon before a transition</strong></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>Use a semicolon to merge two sentences after a transitional phrase such as “however” and “as a result.”</p> <p>You probably already know to use a comma after the transitional phrase (“However, I still got the discount”), but you may not know that you can use a semicolon before the transitional phrase to form a bridge to the previous sentence (“The sale was officially starting on Saturday; however, I still got the discount on Friday because I had a special code”).</p> <p>You could technically use a period in that instance, but a semicolon signals that the thoughts are connected.</p> <p>Other examples: Everyone knows he deserves a raise; of course, he won’t get one with the current budget cuts. Her email is blowing up; for example, she got 50 messages in the last 10 minutes alone.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-title field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"><strong>When not to use a semicolon</strong></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>When you have a conjunction - a connecting word such as “but,” “and,” or “so” - a semicolon is unnecessary.</p> <p>In those cases, the correct punctuation mark is a comma.</p> <p>So it would be incorrect to write “Judy jogged on the pavement; but it wasn’t good for her knees.”</p> <p>The correct version, using a comma, would be “Judy jogged on the pavement, but it wasn’t good for her knees.”</p> <p>Of course, if you got rid of the “but,” a semicolon would be appropriate: “Judy jogged on the pavement; it wasn’t good for her knees.”</p> <p><em>Written by <span>Rachel Aydt</span>. This article first appeared in </em><span><a href="http://www.readersdigest.com.au/true-stories-lifestyle/history/only-ways-you-should-be-using-semicolon"><em>Reader’s Digest</em></a><em>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, </em><a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.com.au/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_campaign=RDSUB&amp;keycode=WRA87V"><em>here’s our best subscription offer.</em></a></span></p> <p><img style="width: 100px !important; height: 100px !important;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7820640/1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f30947086c8e47b89cb076eb5bb9b3e2" /></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>

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How good is your grammar?

<p><span>A new grammar test challenges players to choose the correct plural form of various words.</span></p> <p><span>The creator of the quiz, which was shared on playbuzz, claims that only 4 per cent of people will answer all 20 questions correctly.</span></p> <p><span>The test starts with easier words but players are then asked to choose the plural form of slightly trickier words like “emphasis”.</span></p> <p><span>Do you think you have the linguist skills to get all the answers correct?</span></p> <div class="playbuzz" data-id="419d1bc6-91a4-4289-978c-14c9347d1930" data-show-info="false" data-comments="false" data-show-share="false"></div> <p style="text-align: center;"><span> </span></p> <p><span>How did you score? Let us know in the comments below. </span></p>

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Can you pass this grammar quiz for 11-year-olds?

<p>A new <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.playbuzz.com/terrystein10/no-one-can-pass-this-basic-6th-grade-grammar-quiz" target="_blank">Playbuzz</a></strong></span> quiz that tests your spelling and grammar has left many adults stumped – despite the quiz being designed for Year 6 students, or children aged between 11 and 12.</p> <p>So, just how good is your spelling and grammar? Take the 25-question test below to find out.</p> <div class="pb_feed" data-embed-by="0b63bda6-9ef8-47b6-abb4-7474ed187ba2" data-item="d92ae30e-f1cb-4a47-88f3-15a7f9dac94c" data-recommend="false" data-game-info="false" data-comments="false" data-shares="false"></div>

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The grammar rules you were taught at school that are wrong

<p><em><strong>Misty Adoniou is an Associate Professor in Language, Literacy and TESL at the University of Canberra.</strong></em></p> <p>Do you remember being taught you should never start your sentences with “And” or “But”?</p> <p>What if I told you that your teachers were wrong and there are lots of other so-called grammar rules that we’ve probably been getting wrong in our English classrooms for years?</p> <p><strong>How did grammar rules come about?</strong></p> <p>To understand why we’ve been getting it wrong, we need to know a little about the history of grammar teaching.</p> <p>Grammar is how we organise our sentences in order to communicate meaning to others.</p> <p>Those who say there is one correct way to organise a sentence are <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10036/4481/2012GrammarforWritingReadingWriting.pdf?sequence=5" target="_blank">called prescriptivists</a></strong></span>. Prescriptivist grammarians prescribe how sentences must be structured.</p> <p>Prescriptivists had their day in the sun in the 18th century. As books became more accessible to the everyday person, prescriptivists wrote the first grammar books to tell everyone how they must write.</p> <p>These self-appointed guardians of the language just made up grammar rules for English, and put them in books that they sold. It was a way of ensuring that literacy stayed out of reach of the working classes.</p> <p>They took their newly concocted rules from Latin. This was, presumably, to keep literate English out of reach of anyone who wasn’t rich or posh enough to attend a grammar school, which was a school where you were taught Latin.</p> <p>And yes, that is the origin of today’s grammar schools.</p> <p>The other camp of grammarians are the descriptivists. They write grammar guides that describe how English is used by different people, and for different purposes. They recognise that language isn’t static, and it isn’t one-size-fits-all.</p> <p><strong>1. You can’t start a sentence with a conjunction</strong></p> <p>Let’s start with the grammatical sin I have already committed in this article. You can’t start a sentence with a conjunction.</p> <p>Obviously you can, because I did. And I expect I will do it again before the end of this article. There, I knew I would!</p> <p>Those who say it is always incorrect to start a sentence with a conjunction, like “and” or “but”, sit in the prescriptivist camp.</p> <p>However, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10036/4481/2012GrammarforWritingReadingWriting.pdf?sequence=5" target="_blank">according to the descriptivists</a></strong></span>, at this point in our linguistic history, it is fine to start a sentence with a conjunction in an op-ed article like this, or in a novel or a poem.</p> <p>It is less acceptable to start a sentence with a conjunction in an academic journal article, or in an essay for my son’s high school economics teacher, as it turns out. But times are changing.</p> <p><strong>2. You can’t end a sentence with a preposition</strong></p> <p>Well, in Latin you can’t. In English you can, and we do all the time.</p> <p>Admittedly a lot of the younger generation don’t even know what a preposition is, so this rule is already obsolete. But let’s have a look at it anyway, for old time’s sake.</p> <p>According to this rule, it is wrong to say “Who did you go to the movies with?”</p> <p>Instead, the prescriptivists would have me say “With whom did you go to the movies?”</p> <p>I’m saving that structure for when I’m making polite chat with the Queen on my next visit to the palace.</p> <p>That’s not a sarcastic comment, just a fanciful one. I’m glad I know how to structure my sentences for different audiences. It is a powerful tool. It means I usually feel comfortable in whatever social circumstances I find myself in, and I can change my writing style according to purpose and audience.</p> <p>That is why <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/grammar-matters-and-should-be-taught-differently-25604" target="_blank">we should teach grammar in schools</a></strong></span>. We need to give our children a full repertoire of language so that they can make grammatical choices that will allow them to speak and write for a wide range of audiences.</p> <p><strong>3. Put a comma when you need to take a breath</strong></p> <p>It’s a novel idea, synchronising your writing with your breathing, but the two have nothing to do with one another and if this is the instruction we give our children, it is little wonder commas are so poorly used.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/06/who-really-cares-about-the-oxford-comma/487475/" target="_blank">Punctuation is a minefield</a></strong></span> and I don’t want to risk blowing up the internet. So here is a basic description of what commas do, and <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/index.html" target="_blank">read this</a></strong></span> for a more comprehensive guide.</p> <p>Commas provide demarcation between like grammatical structures. When adjectives, nouns, phrases or clauses are butting up against each other in a sentence, we separate them with a comma. That’s why I put commas between the three nouns and the two clauses in that last sentence.</p> <p>Commas also provide demarcation for words, phrases or clauses that are embedded in a sentence for effect. The sentence would still be a sentence even if we took those words away. See, for example, the use of commas in this sentence.</p> <p><strong>4. To make your writing more descriptive, use more adjectives</strong></p> <p>American writer <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/katelee/2012/11/30/mark-twain-on-writing-kill-your-adjectives/#745e5078637b" target="_blank">Mark Twain had it right</a></strong></span>.</p> <p><em>“When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don’t mean utterly, but kill most of them - then the rest will be valuable.”</em></p> <p>If you want your writing to be more descriptive, play with your sentence structure.</p> <p>Consider this sentence from Liz Lofthouse’s beautiful children’s book <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://penguin.com.au/books/ziba-came-on-a-boat-9780143505518" target="_blank">Ziba came on a boat</a></strong></span>. It comes at a key turning point in the book, the story of a refugee’s escape.</p> <p>“Clutching her mother’s hand, Ziba ran on and on, through the night, far away from the madness until there was only darkness and quiet.”</p> <p>A beautifully descriptive sentence, and not an adjective in sight.</p> <p><strong>5. Adverbs are the words that end in ‘ly’</strong></p> <p>Lots of adverbs end in “ly”, but lots don’t.</p> <p>Adverbs give more information about verbs. They tell us when, where, how and why the verb happened. So that means words like “tomorrow”, “there” and “deep” can be adverbs.</p> <p>I say they can be adverbs because, actually, a word is just a word. It becomes an adverb, or a noun, or an adjective, or a verb when it is doing that job in a sentence.</p> <p>Deep into the night, and the word <em>deep</em> is an adverb. Down a <em>deep</em>, dark hole and it is an adjective. When I dive into the <em>deep</em>, it is doing the work of a noun.</p> <p>Time to take those word lists of adjectives, verbs and nouns off the classroom walls.</p> <p>Time, also, to ditch those old Englishmen who wrote a grammar for their times, not ours.</p> <p>If you want to understand what our language can do and how to use it well, read widely, think deeply and listen carefully. And remember, neither time nor language stands still – for any of us.</p> <p>Written by Misty Adoniou. First appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>The Conversation</strong></span></a>.<img width="1" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/70327/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation"/> </p>

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The basic spelling test everyone is failing

<p>In these days of autocorrect and spellcheck, it’s never been easier to let basic grammar and spelling fall by the wayside. We’ve undertaken a few grammar challenges <a href="/news/news/2016/09/simple-grammar-test-90-percent-fail/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">before</span></strong></a>, but this viral quiz is stumping even those who think their spelling is up to scratch. Flip through the gallery above and give it a try for yourself, you might be surprised by the results!</p> <p>Tell us in the comments how many you correctly guessed.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/09/10-common-words-weve-been-saying-wrong/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em>10 common words we’ve been saying wrong</em></strong></span></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/09/simple-grammar-test-90-percent-fail/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em>The simple grammar test 90% of people fail</em></strong></span></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/09/can-you-solve-this-maths-problem/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Can you solve the kids’ maths problem stumping the internet?</strong></em></span></a></p>

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