Students of English sometimes ask: "In English, when we are dealing with XYZ, what is the Rule?"
This is a little bit like asking: "When I drive from Paris to Beijing, what is the Rule of the Road?"
Well, it�s not exactly like that ... but it�s slightly similar.
Almost every language, just like a road system, has been built, and changed, and adapted, and modernised, in bits and pieces, to conform to the changing needs of the Society of that Nation. These changes have taken centuries for the language to develop into its present form.
To write the �Rules� of that language in short, simple sentences, which the student can consume in 5 minutes, is almost impossible. I try my best, as does every other teacher, but I am almost always criticised for being �wordy�. Other teachers are sometimes criticised for not giving sufficient information.
To keep you in the picture, the five professors of English who wrote "A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language", (which I am studying now), need almost 100 pages to explain the use of Nouns and Determiners. That is just 1 of 19 Chapters and 3 Appendices, a total of 1,800 Pages of a large book.
Under the Section, �Geographical names�, (the topic we are discussing), there are 4 pages of closely written script, divided into about 22 Sub-sections.
I know that being a student of English, is sometimes not easy!
Being a teacher of English, is never easy!
But, we all do the best we can!
Les Douglas
