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English grammar
- Subject: English grammar
- From: flash flash@xxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 08:22:47 +0100
Y'all,
'What will we have for dinner?' 'We will have whatever your father
catches out on the lake [because there's nothing in the pantry].'
'What shall we have for dinner?' 'You shall have whatever you want, my
dear [because it's your birthday].'
"I shall return." Gen. MacArthur
I recommend 'Practical English Usage', by Michael Swan, OUP, second
edition 1995. I find it a useful and current suppliment to Fowler.
As for spoken and written English, certain forms are expected in
business correpsondence which would sound stilted in conversation.
"Enclosed please find..."
I do not subscribe to the claim that words which do not clarify the
meaning of a sentence should be eliminated. As Patricia recently
reminded us, meter counts.
Flash