Word: grammar
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...particularly original, but this doesn't mean that Evening is any less interesting to read. Minot saves us from boredom through her experimentation with words, which becomes the true focal point of the novel and admirably recreates Ann's sentiments and state of mind. At times, the boundaries of grammar dissolve into an endless stream of images that jump from fragments of one remembered moment or conversation to another. Smelling the balsam in a cushion someone gave her, for instance, sets off a chain of memory in which "The air seemed to fracture into screens which all fell crashing...
...women. But the supposition that "he" or "his" may refer to both sexes is ludicrous, since study after study has shown that people of both sexes take this pronoun to refer exclusively to a male. The elusive "gender unspecific pronoun" represents a gap between the rules of grammar and the rules of society that students and academics constantly face. Any student who has written a paper in college has found himself--I mean, herself--I mean, themselves--oh, forget it; I'm moving on to the next paragraph...
...Cleveland Avenue grammar school in Atlanta, children go through six-and-a-half hours without any free time, except for a 30-minute lunch. Even then they must sit at the table and cannot mill about and talk to friends. The building itself, built two years ago, does not even have a playground. When five-year old Toya Gray was asked about recess, she was puzzled. "What's recess?" she asked. Something is terribly wrong here...
Before he continues to threaten players with facial rearrangement, complain about the refs, or affront the rules of grammar, he needs to get in the gym and shoot some free throws...
...allegations on hold and started listening only to the President's response, or lack thereof. The answer is not so much in the evidence as in his face and on his lips. Even for a grammar-loving person like myself, it's a bad sign when you have to parse his sentences to get through his syntactical tap-dance to the truth. His answer to Lehrer's simple question about the scandal was disturbingly complex: "I did not ask anyone to tell anything other than the truth. There is no improper relationship." Note the indefinite pronouns, "anyone" and "anything...