It would be nice if learning a foreign language were as simple as learning to drive. We ought to be able to buy a language manual, study the rules, practice a few weeks, and pass a test. But learning a foreign language, especially English, is far more complicated. Therefore, I propose we simplify the language.
I'll share with you an excerpt from my unpublished book, "Learning to English: a manual." Since most students are tired of studying grammar rules, I'll introduce the section of the book called "Definitions of Commonly Misunderstood Grammatical Terms."
First, let's look at words grammarians have misunderstood as being related to English sentence structure.