>>>
>>> WITH
>>> WITH AUTOCORRECT ON OUR PHONES AND/OR PROCESSORS ON
OUR COMPUTERS, HOW IMPORTANT
REALLY IS IT THESE DAYS TO
KNOW GOOD GRAMMAR?
IF YOU ARE A STUDENT TAKING A
STANDARDIZED TEST, IT IS
PRETTY MUCH THE ENTIRE POINT.
A NEW BOOK OUT CALLED "HOW TO
WRITE FOR CLASS: A STUDENT'S
GUIDE TO GRAMMAR," AND AUTHOR
ERICA METZLER IS HERE WITH ME.
I HOPE I PUT THE, IN THE RIGHT
SENTENCE.
SENTENCE.
SENTENCE. >> I WASN'T PAYING ATTENTION
TO THAT BUT IT SOUNDED TOTALLY
FINE.
FINE.
FINE. I
FINE. I DIDN'T HEAR ANY ISSUES.
I THINK YOU ARE GOOD.
>> WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF
KNOWING GOOD GRAMMAR?
WHEN WE HAVE COMPUTERS DOING
IT FOR US?
>> COMPUTERS KNOW A LOT BUT
THEY DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING.
MOST OF THE TIME, IT'S ONLY
GOING TO TELL YOU WHETHER YOU
HAVE WRITTEN A WORD THAT
DOESN'T ACTUALLY EXIST, OR
WHETHER YOU HAVE WRITTEN
SOMETHING THAT IS COMPLETELY
WRONG.
WRONG.
WRONG. LIKE AUTOCORRECT IS NOT GOING
TO CATCH THOSE LITTLE THINGS
NECESSARILY, LIKE, I DON'T
KNOW, DISCRETE VERSUS
DISCRETE, FOR EXAMPLE.
BUT YOU KNOW, WHEN KIDS ARE
WRITING FOR CLASS AND WHEN
THEY ARE TRYING TO USE HIGH-
LEVEL VOCABULARY, THOSE ARE
THE SORTS OF ISSUES THAT IT'S
NOT GOING TO PICK UP ON.
SO YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS
IS WHEN KIDS ARE TRYING TO
EXPRESS HIGHER-LEVEL IDEAS
WHEN THEY GET TO HIGH SCHOOL,
WHEN THEY START COLLEGE,
THEY'RE GOING TO DEAL WITH
THESE KINDS OF WORDS AND THESE
KINDS OF NUANCES THAT ARE
REALLY BEYOND WHAT THE
TECHNOLOGY CAN PICK UP ON.
>> AND DO YOU SEE KIDS
STRUGGLING WITH IT MORE THAN
MAYBE EVEN FIVE YEARS AGO?
10 YEARS AGO?
>> YOU KNOW, I'M ACTUALLY NOT
TUTORING ANYMORE SO I DON'T
SEE IT AS MUCH.
I SAW --
I SAW --
I SAW -- >> DO YOU THINK, LIKE, TEXT
BECAUSE RUINED PEOPLE?
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. I MEAN, I'M SEEING JUST A SORT
OF GENERAL DETERIORATION, OF
REALLY BASIC THINGS IN SOME
WAYS AND THAT'S A LITTLE
CONCERNING.
CONCERNING. I'M SEEING SOME OF THE TEXTING
PUNCTUATION CREEP IN.
SO INSTEAD OF WRITING A
SENTENCE AND THEN PUTTING A
PERIOD RIGHT AT THE END OF THE
SENTENCE, THEY WILL LEAVE,
LIKE, A SPACE AND THEN DO A
PERIOD, OR THEN LEAVE ANOTHER
SPACE, AND THEN LEAVE A SPACE
AND THEN DO A COMMA, AND THEN
NOT LEAVE A SPACE AND DO
SOMETHING ELSE.
SOMETHING ELSE. THAT CLEARLY COMES FROM
TEXTING.
TEXTING.
TEXTING. >> WHAT ABOUT DOT-DOT-DOT?
I USE THAT MORE THAN ANY OTHER
TIME IN MY LIFE AND I WANT TO
BLANK SOCIAL MEDIA.
IT'S LIKE, DOT-DOT-DOT.
I JUST WANT A REALLY DRAMATIC
PAUSE.
PAUSE.
PAUSE. >>
PAUSE. >> I DON'T THINK THAT'S AN
ISSUE.
ISSUE.
ISSUE. I
ISSUE. I THINK THE DOT-DOT-DOT HAS
BECOME A THING NOW.
>> OKAY, SO IT HAS WORKED ITS
WAY.
WAY.
WAY. GRAMMAR AND EVERYTHING IS
ALWAYS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING.
>> EXACTLY.
>> EXACTLY. BUT I DON'T THINK THAT'S A
REAL PROBLEM.
REAL PROBLEM. I KNOW IT HAS BECOME MORE
COMMON NOW.
COMMON NOW. I KNOW THERE HAVE BEEN DEBATES
ABOUT WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW,
SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE SHOULD
DO A LOT OR NOT.
BUT FROM A GRAMMATICAL
STANDPOINT, I DON'T THINK
THERE'S A PROBLEM.
>> WHAT ABOUT THE OVERUSE OF
EXCLAMATION POINTS?
EXCLAMATION POINTS? >> THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS
REALLY COMMON AND GENERALLY
ACCEPTED IN SOCIAL MEDIA.
IF YOU ARE ON INSTAGRAM AND
COMMENTING ON SOMEBODY'S POST,
YOU WANT TO BE ENTHUSIASTIC
ABOUT IT AND SO IT FEELS WRONG
IF YOU DON'T PUT IN THAT
EXCLAMATION.
EXCLAMATION. BUT THAT DOES CREEP INTO THE
PAPERS.
PAPERS.
PAPERS. AND THAT IS ACTUALLY SOMETHING
THAT I'VE NOTICED.
I HAVE SEEN THAT IN STUDENTS'
PAPERS.
PAPERS.
PAPERS. THAT COMES OFF AS A LITTLE BIT
TOO CASUAL.
TOO CASUAL. THAT IS SOMETHING YOU NEED TO
WATCH.
WATCH.
WATCH. THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT
I TALK ABOUT, THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN FORMAL AND INFORMAL
WRITING.
WRITING.
WRITING. AND IF YOU ARE WRITING FOR A
PAPER, EXCLAMATION POINTS ARE
SOMETHING YOU WANT TO USE VERY
SPARINGLY UNLESS YOU REALLY
WANT TO DRIVE HOME A POINT.
>> AND WHEN YOU ARE WRITING
THESE PAPERS, DO YOU THINK THAT
YOUR IDEAS COULD GET LOST BY
USE OF BAD GRAMMAR?
>> OH, YES.
THAT IS SOMETHING I SAW A LOT
OF AND I THINK IT'S A REALLY
COMMON.
COMMON.
COMMON. BECAUSE YOU KNOW, WHEN STUDENTS
GET TO JUNIOR, SENIOR YEAR IN
HIGH SCHOOL, BEGINNING OF
COLLEGE, THEY'RE REALLY TRYING
TO EXPRESS MORE COMPLEX IDEAS,
OR EVEN JUST STARTING HIGH
SCHOOL.
SCHOOL.
SCHOOL. THEY ARE REALLY STARTING TO
GRAPPLE WITH BIGGER IDEAS.
AND IN ORDER TO DISCUSS THOSE
IDEAS, EFFECTIVELY, OR ANALYZE
THEM EFFECTIVELY, YOU REALLY
HAVE TO BE CLEAR.
AND WHAT HAPPENS A LOT OF THE
TIME IS, YOU KNOW, KIDS ARE SO
ENTHUSIASTIC AND SO EAGER TO
GET THIS ACROSS THAT THE
SENTENCE IS, THEY KIND OF
ACCUMULATE AND THEY GET LONGER
AND LONGER AND LONGER AND SORT
OF THE SUBJECT AND THE VERB
GET LOST AND YOU ARE LIKE,
OKAY, WHAT?
OKAY, WHAT? I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT THIS
IS SAYING.
IS SAYING. I THINK IT'S SAYING SOMETHING
IMPORTANT BUT I'M NOT TOTALLY
SURE.
SURE.
SURE. >>
SURE. >> IT'S LIKE GOING ON A DATE
WITH A GUY THAT HAS LETTUCE IN
HIS TEETH.
HIS TEETH. HE COULD BE SAYING THE MOST
AMAZING THING, BUT ALL YOU CAN
CONCENTRATE ON IS THAT.
>> I LOVE THAT.
YES.
YES.
YES. >>
YES. >> AND ADULTS MAKE MISTAKES,
TOO.
TOO.
TOO. >>
TOO. >> ABSOLUTELY, YES.
>> WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON
MISTAKES YOU SEE ADULTS
MAKING?
MAKING?
MAKING? WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A GRAMMAR
LESSON.
LESSON.
LESSON. LET'S START WITH IT'S VERSUS
ITS.
ITS.
ITS. WHEN
ITS. WHEN DO YOU USE THE
APOSTROPHE?
APOSTROPHE? >> THE RULE IS PRETTY SIMPLE.
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW IS THAT
IT'S IS THE SAME AS IT IS.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHICH
VERSION TO DO, PLUG-IN IT IS
AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HEAR
WHETHER THERE IS A MISTAKE
IMMEDIATELY.
IMMEDIATELY. >> OKAY, SO IT'S COLD.
IT IS COLD.
BUT NOT ITS SEATTLE.
DID THAT WORK?
OKAY, LET'S SKIP THAT ONE.
WE GET IT.
IT IS CALLED.
HOW ABOUT SEMICOLON AND
PERIOD?
PERIOD?
PERIOD? >> OKAY, I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS
IN HIGH SCHOOL THINKING THAT
SEMICOLONS WERE THIS
INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT
INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT PUNCTUATION PEACE TO MATTER.
BUT, IN REALITY, THEY'RE
BASICALLY THE SAME THING AS A
PERIOD.
PERIOD.
PERIOD. IF YOU THINK OF IT LIKE THAT,
IF YOU USE THEM LIKE PERIOD,
YOU WILL NEVER BE WRONG.
>> OKAY, AND ME VERSIS I. THIS
IS MY BIGGEST ISSUE.
PREACH.
PREACH.
PREACH. >> THIS IS ANOTHER ONE THAT
PEOPLE THINK IS REALLY HARD.
THEY HAVE ALL OF THESE
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SUBJECTS
AND OBJECTS AND DIFFERENT KIND
OF PRONOUNS.
OF PRONOUNS. ACTUALLY, THE RULE IS SUPER
SIMPLE.
SIMPLE.
SIMPLE. DO IT BY EAR.
THE RULE IS, WHAT GOES FOR
CINGULAR, GOES FOR PLURAL, TOO.
>> SO, ERICA AND I ARE GOING
TO GET A DRINK, NOT ERICA AND
ME.
ME.
ME. >>
ME. >> EXACTLY.
>> EXACTLY. BECAUSE YOU WOULDN'T SAY, ME
IS GOING TO GET A DRINK.
>> UNLESS I WOULD.
AND THEN HE WOULD NOT GO GET A
DRINK WITH ME WHICH IS FINE.
I UNDERSTAND.
I UNDERSTAND. >> I HAD A STUDENT WHO THOUGHT
IT WOULD BE HILARIOUS TO START
TALKING LIKE THAT AND HE
ACTUALLY DID IT FOR A LONG
TIME WHEN I WAS WORKING WITH
HIM.
HIM.
HIM. HE
HIM. HE WAS PART OF THE INSPIRATION
FOR THIS BOOK.
HE KNOWS ALL ABOUT THIS BOOK.
>> AWESOME.
>> AWESOME. I'M REALLY GLAD THAT YOU'RE
DOING THIS WORK, ERICA.
AND SORE PARENTS AND SORE
STUDENTS AS WELL BECAUSE IT IS
HARD TO FIND THAT INFORMATION