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Can We Help?: Challenging grammar rules, darlings and crowbars

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Presenters sit on set, text overlay reads "Where does 'Darling' fit in as a term of endearment?"
Can We Help?: Challenging grammar rules, darlings and crowbars

SUBJECTS:  English

YEARS:  5–6


Find out that what appears to be a straightforward grammar rule behind the use of the words 'fewer' and 'less' may not be as straightforward as it seems!

Professor Kate Burridge explains that this grammar rule has been under challenge for centuries. She also explains the origins of the word 'darling' and why the 'crow' gives its name to the 'crowbar'.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Do you know the rule that tells you whether you should use the word 'less' or 'fewer'? Before watching the video, use each of those two words in a sentence. Then, after viewing, check to see how you used each word. Have you ever been called 'darling'? What's a crowbar? What is it used for?
  2. 2.What is the rule for using the words 'less' and 'fewer'? Since what century has this rule been challenged? Why is the rule so difficult to maintain? What's the origin of the word 'darling'? Does the word still have the same meaning as it always did? What does a 'crowbar' look like? What is it used for? Kate says people assume it's called a 'crowbar' for a certain reason. What is it?
  3. 3.If you followed 'Before viewing's' suggestion of using the words 'less' and 'fewer' in a sentence, would you change the way you used them now you've seen the video? Why or why not? What does Professor Burridge mean when she says that 'darling' is a very 'stable' word?
  4. 4.Choose a common household object or appliance with a name that intrigues you. Research to find the origins of the name and any other interesting information that you can find. Write an explanation 'How the [appliance] got its name'. Share your work with others.


Date of broadcast: 18 Apr 2008


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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