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I am failing at Grammar/English class.

NormannTheDoorman

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I understand what the basic concepts are but I find it very boring. I see no use or purpose in trying to label parts of a sentence. If anyone else had similar experiences it would be nice to hear them.
 
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This was me freshmen year in high school. That and memorizing fucking vocabulary, made me want to do regrettable things. I wound up failing the class and getting expelled (for... other stuff).

All the classes after that were composition and writing though and I could write what I wanted, so it didn't bother me as much.

*edited for grammatic correction
 

MsAnthropy_Indefatigably

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I went into HS to Honors English where I failed the whole term miserably except the Final, where I got a B. I don't know how (I did sleep with the book under my pillow that night?? lol) For some reason, it was only after HS that I began really taking an interest in English and grammar as a whole.
I turned into one of those people who pokes fun of others who can't differentiate between homophones or gets irritated when people use too much abbreviation in written communication or misspell words without taking the initiative to correct themselves.
I don't know why my interest in English was so late-blooming, but maybe it would help to mess around with less "mandatory" forms of learning grammar? And if history is at all an interest for you, learning about the background of English and how words are derived might help? I love Dictionary.com. I have an app for it and when I get the "words of the day" I like to mark my favorites and review the lists from time to time and add new words to my vocabulary when possible. There are several other tools to help with English/ grammar on that website, so I would suggest going there to see if any of it helps you understand the rules or at least make grammar more interesting for you. :)
 

snafupants

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TAke some lesons from me and excell @ spalling and gremmar.
 

kantor1003

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I see no use or purpose in trying to label parts of a sentence.
Some think that the structure of language in some way resembles the structure of the world. Seen in that light, the study of language can be an interesting endeavor and "label(ing) parts of a sentence" (ie. subject/predicate) not fruitless by any means. This is, however, seen from a semantical-ontological vantage point and not simply a case of acquainting yourself with a certain language syntax.
 

Solitaire U.

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I understand what the basic concepts are but I find it very boring.

So you understand the basic concepts...bore us for a moment with something extremely basic: give a brief description of how the articles 'a', 'an', and 'the' are being used in the following sentences. In other words, why is each article being used in the instance in which it appears?

A cat is an animal.

The cat is sleeping.

I see no use or purpose in trying to label parts of a sentence.

Then you see no use or purpose in ever learning a foreign language. If you don't recognize the grammatical constructions of your native tongue, your understanding/use/acquisition skills in foreign tongues will be extremely limited. Also, understanding grammatical constructions is an obligatory rung on the ladder to being an astute communicator/creative writer.
If anyone else had similar experiences it would be nice to hear them.

This infers that you are only interested in sympathetic responses. Is this what you meant to say?
 
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I find such things pointless. Therefore, say "fuck it," be like I was (am?). :D

I said fuck it. Went to college and majored in English...and still said fuck it. :)
Pretty sure I was the reason they created a class on grammar at my university. My papers' grading were A for content, D for grammar...depending on the teacher that meant either a B or C.

I'm really not into bullshit posturing (professionalism drives me crazy, wish I could punch it dead). So I was just writing however I felt and giving a big fuck you to all the subscribers to professionalism. Don't think any of them realized I did know Standard English grammar rules (to an extent) but I just didn't care enough to use them.

Have to admit that recently I've actually taken an interest in grammar and began reading up about it. I like manipulation of language and have a big hard on for subtlety. That is the only time I feel grammar matters, when you want crisp precision at a deep level. If you get real good at grammar you can say things without using the words (insinuation & such). Although I think the most important part of writing is tone, aka "your voice".
 

Nocturne

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Learning grammar/the like in the school is tedious and equally horrible.

I tend to do particularly terrible when it comes to larger compositions like essays due to my digressive nature and lack of structure. *sigh*

INTP-relatable, hm?
 

ProxyAmenRa

Here to bring back the love!
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I got expelled twice. Bow down, punk.

:kinggrin:

Expelled once and asked to never return at the other school.

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You increase your knowledge of spelling, grammar, sentence structure, etc. the more your practice.

A good idea may be to post well constructed and insightful posts on forums.
 
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Expelled once and asked to never return at the other school.

---

You increase your knowledge of spelling, grammar, sentence structure, etc. the more your practice.

A good idea may be to post well constructed and insightful posts on forums.
I'm holding back, lest I embarrass thee :o
 

Nocturne

Vesper.
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Failed twice consecutively.
I am seemingly following the same path at this point.
~
While I do write on my own, I don't usually pay attention to the structure...
"I will try harder next time."
 

Tempestas

who purgatoried their torsos night after night wi
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I really enjoy English class. I love grammar and playing with the exact shades of meaning in a passage; the complexities of language are fascinating to me.

I hate writing essays with a passion, though, and subsequently stopped turning them in last year. Didn't even get into honors English, so I'm stuck with the foreign kids and the class clowns who don't appreciate literature.

I love stories. I am an artist in all that I do, including in my language. Grammar becomes the skill with which you hold the brush, the exact strokes that cover the page and the method that extracts emotion and thought from your audience.

 

Niclmaki

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Failed twice consecutively.


I did as well. First time I did not wish to write poems or whatever they're called. I seen no use for them, and the teacher told me I broke "rules" writing the ones I did do.

Second time I quit going after the teacher shot down a paper I wrote because it conflicted with her personal views. She also kicked me out of class for not wanting to throw my candy away :(.
 

NormannTheDoorman

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It is either me or how the English teacher ran that class. She made us write extremely boring and simple stories. "Write a story about a tree. 2 paragraphs". Or things that do not interest me at all like love life, opinions on some really stupid things, write about her. I left this school and I never cared to look at this thread at all since I posted it.


So you understand the basic concepts...bore us for a moment with something extremely basic: give a brief description of how the articles 'a', 'an', and 'the' are being used in the following sentences. In other words, why is each article being used in the instance in which it appears?

Which is what we do all day in 9th grade English. That or we read some kids story about him on LSD while sitting on a tree. I am exaggerating but that is all we do. Talk about his or her story.

Then you see no use or purpose in ever learning a foreign language

What kind of assumption is that? I see plenty of purpose in learning a foreign language.
1)Communicate with my Norwegian family members better.
-Communicate with family members that do not speak English as their primary language.

This infers that you are only interested in sympathetic responses. Is this what you meant to say?

I would like to hear stories similar to this. I should have added more detail to my thread about my English education.
 

NinjaSurfer

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@NormannTheDoorman

Here begins an impromptu but well structured story about a very sad tree; the tree's name is Steve. "The neighborhood kids like to swing on my limbs," Steve the tree would scream. Sometimes they would toke it up underneath him, blowing smoke all over the place, suffocating Steve while they were wasting their lives away. No one could hear Steve's silent wheezes.

See, Steve had a rare form of plant asthma-- I'd call it "plasma" but that's already taken. Did the kids ever come by to water Steve? Maybe remove the dead and shedding leaves and branches so the healthy ones can get a tan? No way. The kids would even be so vicious as to stab him repeatedly with a sharp knife, gruesomely carving their initials into Steve's hide, maybe as a sick way of claiming their disfigurement of his body. All they were interested in was torturing Steve.

No respect! And to think, Steve was older than everyone's grandparents! It's all good though; one day, bittersweet revenge came about. A lightning bolt struck Steve at the base, simultaneously decapitating Steve and crushing all the kids at the same time. The teacher survived but she was swiftly fired and convicted of negligent homicide for taking the kids out to play during superrFrankenstorm Sandy.

The end.
 

EditorOne

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"Then you see no use or purpose in ever learning a foreign language. If you don't recognize the grammatical constructions of your native tongue, your understanding/use/acquisition skills in foreign tongues will be extremely limited. Also, understanding grammatical constructions is an obligatory rung on the ladder to being an astute communicator/creative writer."

This is a true thing.

Additionally, precision in grammar and care in syntax really help communications, especially if you are dealing with dinosaurs like myself who think good grammar is standard and therefore look at messages, essays, even forums, with an assumption that it is in play.

However, you didn't say you don't know good grammar, and you certainly are using it in your posts, so presumably the problem is merely with diagramming sentences and identifying their parts. That is somewhat tedious after you figure it out, but it's important, a basic skill that is never expressly used in the real world but which functions as a self-correcting background system that informs your speech and writing.

Do you know the significant difference in message between these two sentences?

"John's wife Mary died."
"John's wife, Mary, died."

Diagramming it will make the difference much clearer, if it isn't obvious to you.

Keep in mind I spent a great many years editing for a living, moving through prose like a weed whacker getting rid of incorrect grammar, misspellings and plain awkwardness. I may therefore set a higher value on this grammar thing simply because I've invested a lot of myself in it. :)
 

NormannTheDoorman

Rice is love. Rice is life.
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I'm quite pathetic when it comes to writing the story. I have the imagination but writing it out is difficult. Not sure why.
 
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