Re: E-Prime

Subject: Re: E-Prime
From: M DeMeritt <mdemerit -at- CYMBAL -dot- AIX -dot- CALPOLY -dot- EDU>
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 1994 13:50:09 -0800

Hello to Jim, Bonnie and the others who would like to discuss E-Prime...
I sure do!

E-Prime is a system of English semantics developed in the 1930's (?)
which omits ALL uses of the verb "to be." I teach this to my students as
a way of getting them to stop using the passive voice...which requires
some form of the very "to be." E-Prime also creates a more interesting
and precise piece of writing. I have handouts, examples, and audio tape
of one "expert" who SPEAKS in E-Prime....try that on sometime.

One example I used in a recent training workshop:

She is smart. (what does this mean?)

E-Prime will push us to tell the truth:

She scored over 1450 on her SAT exam.
or
She marries only very rich men.

More on this later....gotta rush back to paper grading errrrgh.

Melody


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