IF Philip Pullman thinks grammar is so unimportant, how come the first half of his article is all about the grammar of the literacy strategy document?
He found 72 verbs, a suspect use of the noun “quality” and the verb “support” used in a grammatical pattern not attested outside the Department for Education and Skills.
He is right, and obviously knows about grammar. He is also pretty good at using it - he says he fixes the grammar at page-proof stage.
Lucky him - most of us struggle with it at every stage, and there cannot be many key stage 3 pupils with his skills. What is the point of having a wonderful idea if you can’t put it into words? By all means aim at inspiration, but do not forget the need for high-quality tools.
Richard Hudson Phonetics and linguistics University College London Gower Street Bloomsbury London WC1E
