Do I really need to know the difference between an adjective and an adverb?
I'm sure I will incur the wrath of English teachers everywhere, but not really. You only need to use them correctly.
Think of it like this. Paul McCartney didn't know how to read music when he wrote, "Yesterday." He does today, because he's a knight and all that, but if you asked him what a double clef was back then, he'd just smile and look cute. He can't help but look cute. It's in his DNA.
Please don't explain the past perfect tense
But before you all start lighting your English Comp textbooks on fire, remember that McCartney didn't need to know all the music vocabulary because he wrote like he knew it all. He had been practicing and writing songs since before he hit puberty. By the time he wrote "Yesterday," he knew more about music than most music teachers. He just couldn't explain it.
You don't have to be able to win Trivial Pursuit questions on the difference between an adjective and an adverb in order to be a good writer, but only if you can show the difference through good, solid writing. If you start writing things like ...
Michael opened the slowly door
or
The ship flew around the sun hottly because it flew too close.
... then you're going to look either really stupid or really visionary. Take a guess which label will stick to someone without an established career in science fiction?
It's nice, but what does "He done good" mean?
Learning the difference is actually a great idea. In fact, learning all about grammar is a great idea. I don't think writers necessarily need to know how to use ellipses properly, but it couldn't hurt. No writer ever suffered because they know too much about grammar.
And writers who don't know subject-verb agreement or possession will never be published except in their own minds. Readers and publishers will not care about your extremely clever plot or your extensive knowledge of quantum spin if you write something like, "Jennifer running to catch the train, she did quick, yes?"
If you sound like a taxi driver, you need an English class. Stat.
Think you got a good question? Prove it. Click here, fanboy.
|