On page 41 of Noguchi's Grammar and the Teaching of Writing, he distinguishes 
between two kinds of rules: descriptive rules of the English language and 
prescriptive rules about language.   He points out that a sentence like "Girl is 
the tall." violates descriptive rules and, therefore, is not an English 
sentence.   On the other hand, "Sam ain't going" violates the prescriptive rule 
against using "ain't," and so is an English sentence but just doesn't conform to 
the prescriptive rules.

I'm wondering what Noguchi would say about sentences like the following:

Girl is tall.
An girl is tall.

Which kind of rule do they violate?


Peter Adams

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