At  1:03 PM 10/1/97 -0400, EDWARD VAVRA wrote:
>---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>Sender:       Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
>              <[log in to unmask]>
>Poster:       EDWARD VAVRA <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject:      Semicolons, etc.
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>I was taught that the semicolon is best used to
>separate main clauses with contrasting ideas --
>
>He went swimming; she did the dishes.
>
>The colon and dash, I was taught, are used to
>separate main clauses in which the second clause
>amplifies or specifies information in the first (the colon
>being more formal than the dash) --
>
>He drank a lot -- he had three vodkas and eight beers.
>
>Are these "rules" still accepted and being taught, or
>am I an old fuddy-duddy?
>
>Also, I recently shocked someone by saying that "ain't"
>will eventually be accepted as acceptable English and
>that "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should" will
>become standard usage.  Your comments, please.
>
>Thanks,
>Ed V.
 
Ed:  Check out page 602 of Webster's Dictionary of English Usage on the
subject of like vs. as.
After quoting dozens of citations from literature, from 1884 to 1986, the
editors conclude:  To summarize the controversy:  like has been in use as a
conjunction for more than 600 years.  Its beginnings are literary, but the
available evidence shows that it was fairly rare until the 19th century.  A
noticeable increase in use during the 19th century provoked the censure we
are so familiar with.  ....The belief that like is a preposition but not a
conjunction has entered the folklore of usage.  Handbooks, schoolbooks,
newspaper pundits, and well-meaning friends for generations to come will
tell youall about it.  Be prepared.
 
This conclusion applies to many, many familiar myths!
 
Martha Kolln