Then, it happened...


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Start New Thread ] [ TarBoard ]

Posted by Edwin M. Kiser on April 19, 1999 at 17:34:14:

As part of my language studies in high school, we were to write a
narrative concerning what we did during our Summer holidays. I
was dismayed when I got the paper back horribly RED marked
because I had made rather generous usage of beginning a sentence
with "Then". It seemed all very much to make good sense when
describing a series of events to use "Then" to announce the next
event that happened. Besides, I was only following the example
of that famous author, Arthur Ransome. I took "Swallows and
Amazons" to school the next day to in support of my claim, to no
avail. There I pointed out many places where he began a sentence
with "Then". The teacher merely concluded that he must not have
been that good an author anyway. I was sadly disappointed to
hear AR so downgraded. Trying to prove the teacher was unfair or
wrong was not good politics on my part, as I most likely should
have just let it go. I did want to try to justify why I wrote in
the style that I used.

I have counted these occurances, and have found 268 sentences in
"Swallows and Amazons" that begin with "Then". Perhaps this is
just a difference in American vs. UK English, but it sure cost me
to follow AR's example in writing.

Does his starting so many sentences with "Then" detract from his
reputation of skill as an author?

====

On the topic of starting a lot of sentences a certain way, in
"Swallows and Amazons" there are 83 times a sentence begins with
"Well," Seems like this was also a favorite beginning of
sentences used by President Ronald Reagan. So I suppose I can't
accuse this expression with being an anachronism of British
English. Wonder what my English teacher would object to about
such usages, but at this stage in life, it doesn't matter any
more. Well, so much for HER opinion...

Ed Kiser

(in beautiful south Florida, where the many canals
through the Everglades reminds one of the waterways in the Broads
of England, but here the tides have little to no effect. Just
don't go O.B. as that might attract the 'gators...)



Follow Ups:



Post a Followup

Name:
Eel-Mail:

Existing subject (please edit appropriately) :

Comments:

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:

post direct to TarBoard test post first


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TarBoard ]