That doesn't make any sense. Sorry. There's no known way of saying an English sentence in which you begin a sentence with 'in' and emphasize it. Get me a jury and show me how you can say 'In July' and I'll go down on you. That's just idiotic, if you'll forgive me by saying so. That's just stupid... 'In July'; I'd love to know how you emphasize 'In' in 'In July'. Impossible! Meaningless!
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Welles criticizes a linguistic rule he finds nonsensical and impossible to follow.
- In plain terms
- He says it is impossible to emphasize a word like 'in' at the start of a sentence.
- What can you take from it?
- Rules that contradict common usage are often meaningless and should be ignored.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do we follow rules that make no sense?
- Should language follow rules or use?
Another view
Formal grammar rules sometimes serve a structure over natural speech.
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