RE: "and then," or simply "then"?

["Sarah Blake" <Sarah -dot- Blake -at- microfocus -dot- com>]

> I get the sense that, in academia, there is a strong movement that
> believes the teaching of grammar adds nothing useful to the teaching
of
> reading and writing.

I've read Professor Pullum and other linguists (and for anyone who
hasn't, you should add LanguageLog.com to your reading list forthwith!).
It's not that he disapproves of teaching grammar; being a linguist, he's
all for it.  He just believes that those who attempt to teach grammar
should understand it better themselves first :)

Some of the grammatical rules that people get most het up about (such
as, oh, 'fewer' vs 'less') aren't actually rules, so much as stylistic
points; the 'wrong' version often has a pedigree going back centuries,
of writers who knew what they were doing. 

Now, I haven't read the entire thread, and my grammatical knowledge is
not of the best (unlike my grammar /use/ which is, of course, perfect in
every way), so I shall bow gently out now... but I couldn't let such
vile assumptions about one of my heroes* go unchallenged :)

S.

*Arnold Zwicky is my other hero.  I would marry him just to get that
cool surname.

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