(상식-045) (Holiday) March 4th - National Grammar Day

[Write 2 Speak]

March 4 is a very important day for all language students. It is National Grammar Day (NGD). This is the day for you to be extra careful with your grammar in class. It is also a good day to promise yourself to make your grammar better. This day is not just for students. Many native speakers of all languages have terrible grammar and make many mistakes. There is an annual award for famous people with poor grammar and U.S. Presidents have won it in the past! NGD is also a day when teachers around the world need to review their teaching methods and make their activities better. If your grammar isn’t good, you can't always say what you mean. People might not always be able to guess what you want to say.
* extra careful = ~에 각별히 조심하다/ promise oneself to do ~ = ~하기로 마음 속으로[스스로] 맹세하다/ native speaker = (특정 언어를[의]) 모국어로 하는 사람[모국어 사용자]/ annual award = 연례 주어지는 상/ review = (특히 필요한 경우 변화를 주기 위해) 재검토하다/ teaching method = 교수법        

National Grammar Day was created by the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar (SPOGG) and MSN Encarta. The NGD website says: “If we don't respect and honor the rules of English, we lose our ability to communicate clearly and well.” So what do we do on National Grammar Day? The folks at SPOGG advise us to: “Speak well! Write well! And on March 4, march forth and spread the word. If you see a sign with a catastrophic apostrophe, send a kind note to the storekeeper. If your local newscaster says "Between you and I," set him straight with a friendly e-mail.” The site offers ten top tips for good grammar and encourages visitors to send photos of public notices that contain bad grammar.
* promotion (of ~) = (~의) 주창, 옹호/ MSN Encarta = 마이크로소프트 사에서 판매하는 멀티미디어 백과 사전/ spread the word = 말을 퍼뜨리다/ catastrophic = 파멸의, 비극적인, 큰 재앙의/ set straight = ~에 정확한 정보를 주다/ encourage = 권장[장려]하다

 It is also a good day to promise yourself to make your grammar better. This day is not just for students. Many native speakers of all languages have terrible grammar and make many mistakes.
* promise oneself to do ~ = ~하기로 마음 속으로[스스로] 맹세하다/ native speaker = (특정 언어를[의]) 모국어로 하는 사람[모국어 사용자]

* 재귀대명사(Reflexive Pronoun)
myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves 등과 같이
인칭대명사의 소유격이나 목적격에 self나 selves를 붙이면 "~자신"이라는 뜻의 재귀대명사가 된다.
재귀대명사는 (1) 주어와 동일한 사람이나 사물이 목적어가 되는 경우 쓰이는 재귀적 용법과,
(2) 주어나 목적어와 동격으로 쓰이는 강조적 용법이 있다.

You should take care not to hurt yourselves. (너희들 다치지 않도록 조심해야 한다.) 
I myself did it. = I did it myself. (내 자신이 직접 그것을 했다.) 

* Examples *

1. 그들은 자기 자신들에 대해 이야기하는 것을 매우 좋아한다.
They are very fond of talking about themselves.

2. 하늘은 스스로 돕는 자를 돕는다.
God helps those who help themselves.

3. 그는 자기 자신을 죽였다.
He killed himself.

(Holiday) March 4th - National Grammar Day.mp3