Even though I've only ever lived in Canada and the US, I feel like I could benefit from learning more English. I realized this when I watched my kids diagramming sentences and thought back to how I was never able to master anything beyond basic noun, verb, pronoun, adverb stuff. I'm talking about things like participles and perfect tenses and articles.
I'm not really sure what you could gain from that. Language is not the stuffy study of hard and fast rules, but a constant negotiation between what the listener is capable of understanding, and what the speaker will compose.
In the same way that unexamined Ebonics is not just crappy English, unexamined Standard American English is not just crappy English.
Whether you're aware of the underlying rules or not, you're following those rules when you're understood, and you're breaking them when you're not.
> I'm not really sure what you could gain from that.
Are you saying that as someone that has a good understanding of English grammar?
I was thinking that in the same way have a better knowledge of basic physics or chemistry can help me cook or fix my car, better knowledge of my language could help me understand and be understood.
For example, in one of my previous jobs I received a critique saying I should stop using the passive voice when I write. It's a habit I haven't been able to break and my first draft of anything I write is still very passive. Frankly, I don't have a good idea of what makes something passive on paper.
> Are you saying that as someone that has a good understanding of English grammar?
I have a very strong working understanding of English grammar, but I couldn't recall many of the concepts concepts by name. I think I'm roughly at the same place as you on that matter.
> I should stop using the passive voice when I write.
That is a great idea. For people who have trouble sticking to habits, I always suggest using a tool like http://hemingwayapp.com/
Tools like this give you practice recognizing patterns you don't want to see in your writing. People I've suggested it to have found it very useful.
I ran my previous comment through it and my comment requires an 8th grade reading level and was scored as good.
My paragraph that starts "I was thinking" is marked as very hard to read. My "For example" sentence is hard to read. I used one adverb (frankly), and used the passive voice once (be understood). I'm not sure I see the problem with be understood.
