much of the change being for the better in the way of a more expressive speech. Most of the great figures in English literature were
writers and speakers who took a
very practical view of language as
a tool to form their thoughts in the
most significant way. It is time for
English teachers to get together
and revamp to a considerable extent what and how they teach," he states
A few rules which might be
thrown overboard at once, Professor Fries suggests, include those
forbidding "none" with a plural
verb; "either," "neither," "each,"
"everyone," &c, with a plural verb
when other words in the sentence
give a clear plural meaning to the
complete subject.
The "can-may" and "shall-will"
rules might well be ignored also,
especially the use of "can" in questions of permission and "will" with
the first person in statements of
fact, or with the second person in
questions. Likewise "like" should
be liberated for use in such statements as "he took to figures like a
duck to water."
In   the   past   tense  it  should be
agreed    that    the    past    tense    -
"ring"  could be  either  "rang'
"rung";   of "sing,"  either "sang"
or     "sung";     of    "sink,"     either
"sank"   or   "sunk";   of   "shrink,'
either   "shrank" or  "shrunk'';   of
"spring,"     either      "sprang"     or
"sprung"; and for the participle of
the verb "show,"  either "showed'
or "shown."