Have you ever tried to pick a topic to make a presentation or talk about? You realize, if you are like me (the kind who’s always talking about something or the other) that there’s a vast choice out there, and with a little help from Google, you could talk on just about ANYTHING!
The presentation day arrived. Eager faces greeted me. Eager because the Top-ic had been kept Top-Secret and the whole bunch wanted to know what it was going to be.
“Common Grammatical Errors” I proclaimed. Knowledgeable nods and smiles came my way. Of course, as a team of writers, we all knew how important it was and is for us to ‘Write Right’. Did we really put this consciously into practice was the question.
According to me, English grammar should be deemed the eighth sea of the world. So the session was just the tip of the iceberg.
It was an interesting session, discussing topics like using I or me, dangling modifiers, the importance of the comma, which was my favourite topic. It still astonishes me how a little thing like a comma can change the meaning of the sentence drastically. In sentences like this: ‘Kill him not, save him’ and ‘Kill him, not save him’ it’s a matter of life and death.
Discussing the difference between ‘can’ and ‘may’ led us into a debate on where to draw the acceptable or unacceptable line in these changing times. What was once acceptable has become archaic, and some previously unacceptable words and phrases have been incorporated into English today.
We concluded by unanimously agreeing that these grammatical rules should flow in and through you. It should be a part and parcel of who you are whether it be writing a recipe or a formal letter to a client.
Looking forward to more discussion and discovery from future I2@C2 sessions.
(Athulya Elizabeth Pulimood, ID, C2 Workshop)
