Question/grammar

Famous quotes containing the words question and/or grammar:

    You have both said well,
    And on the cause and question now in hand
    Have glozed, but superficially—not much
    Unlike young men whom Aristotle thought
    Unfit to hear moral philosophy.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    Grammar is a tricky, inconsistent thing. Being the backbone of speech and writing, it should, we think, be eminently logical, make perfect sense, like the human skeleton. But, of course, the skeleton is arbitrary, too. Why twelve pairs of ribs rather than eleven or thirteen? Why thirty-two teeth? It has something to do with evolution and functionalism—but only sometimes, not always. So there are aspects of grammar that make good, logical sense, and others that do not.
    John Simon (b. 1925)