At 05:24 PM 2/19/01 -0500, you wrote: Several years ago, a popular comic assumed the persona of an Eastern European, new to the ways of America, and had as his constant punch line "What a country!" The same might be said for our lovely language, where for every rule there is an exception. I have had the opportunity to know several people for whom English is a second language learned as an adult, and I can only stand in amazement at their ability to learn such a seemingly impossible language. To paraphrase the outlaws in the old Humphrey Bogart movie "Treasure of the Sierra Madres" (title?/sp?): "Grammar? Grammar? We don't need no sticking grammar!" To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/