I'm so glad I wrote the first post in this series because it opened my eyes to a game-changing fact about myself.
I'm notorious for not caring about names.
As I refused to memorize the accidentals involved in each key signature, I also refused to learn the names of all the verb tenses and moods. That wouldn't be a problem if I knew how to use them, but... I don't. I considered sitting down and learning them the traditional textbook way, but that just sounds so tedious!
Guess what else sounds tedious? Remembering the names of different colors! I suppose my brain "maxed out" after learning the colors of the rainbow plus brown, black, and pink. I don't remember the difference between lilac, lavender, periwinkle, and fuchsia. I just know it as "purple." It's not that I can't perceive the difference between them; I just never bothered to remember which one is which. The same goes for foods. I don't really care what a particular dish is called, as long as it tastes good.
For the first time in my life, I've come to recognize that this is an area worth improving. I catch myself whenever I start thinking, "The name doesn't matter" or "I'll never remember the name even if I try." I'm trying to remember for the sake of having more dynamic conversations with people that leave both them and me feeling more satisfied. But there's a much more practical reason than that.
I'm a writer by trade, and I want to become the best proofreader I can be. To be successful in my field, I will need to know grammar inside and out. There's much that I've forgotten: transitive vs intransitive verbs, demonstrative adjectives, predicates, subordinating vs coordinating conjunctions, etc. Fortunately for me, I have a book that will guide me through this.
The Syntax Handbook by Justice et al. (link in the appendix) was part of my required reading during my graduate studies. Due to an unfortunate combination of going through the book too quickly and not caring, the information didn't stick with me long-term. But this time, I want it to stick.
ANNOUNCEMENT: I'm going to be making a series on Journaly in which I practice the fundamentals of my own language, taking excerpts from The Syntax Handbook to explain concepts and guide my practice. Feel free to follow along, but if that kind of thing is deadly dull for you, I don't blame you one bit.
Appendix
The Syntax Handbook: Everything You Learned about Syntax -- but Forgot
By Laura M. Justice, Ph.D, Helen K. Ezell, Ph.D, CCC-SLP, and Mary Beth Schmitt, Ph.D, CCC-SLP.
Second edition. Copyright 2016 by PRO-ED, Inc.
ISBN-10 : 141640998X. ISBN-13 : 978-1416409984.
I read both posts in this series and I'm excited to read your next posts based on the Syntax Handbook. I also like the way you try to understand how your brain works.
I'm also a person who refused to learn the names of the tenses and many other things, and I'm kind of getting familiar with them now. I'm looking forward to reading the new series!