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My response to Ron Sheen's set of twenty sentences was to ask "What am I
looking for? Surface errors, usage or what?" The word "correct" implies
error, so what errors can English teachers find in them? As I read them, I
wanted to know the context for each. Colloquially or informally we hear
these sentences frequently. In informal contexts is there a rigid set of
correctness in verb use? For example, " 7. I was married twice." implies
that the speaker does not intend to marry again. "I've been married twice"
implies the person might consider another try. Unless the linguist's
assumption is that the speaker are not using these past /perfect tense
expressions consciously. I would teach present perfect as indicating
continuing or repeated or incomplete action.
The current discussion is fascinating. I wager that many readers of recent
ATEG posts do not understand the theories underlying the issues between
systemic functional linguistics and formalism, among others, as approaches
to grammar study. (I don't entirely either, but . . .) All teaching implies
theory, yet I doubt most English teachers could clearly explain the theories
behind their own grammar teaching practice.
It seems to me that this disconnect illustrates the huge gulf between
language theory and language/grammar teaching that exists in English, a gap
that this discussion might illustrate. Given their work loads, most English
teachers are not able to reduce the gap that their undergraduate study
failed to address, even if they realize there is one.
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