[Lecture Three] Principles of Grammar
by Dr. Leonard Peikoff
Total Time: 2 hours, 26 minutes
Course summary: In this course, Dr. Peikoff explores the epistemological roots of the science of grammar. In it, he illustrates how an understanding of the basic methods of combining words into sentences is essential to clear thinking and writing. Each lecture contains student exercises that should be completed prior to the end of the lecture. Read more »
In this lecture: In this lecture, Dr. Peikoff continues his discussion of how to achieve emphasis through grammatical constructions. He describes the use of word order, repetition, correlatives, and economy as means toward this end. He reviews the homework from the second session.
Study Guide
This material is designed to help you digest the lecture content. You can also download below a PDF study guide for the entire course.
| Why are typographical techniques inappropriate for emphasis? |
| How can word order alterations change emphasis and meaning? |
| What is a periodic sentence and a loose sentence? Give original examples of each. |
| How does a climaxing word order achieve emphasis? |
| Describe good and bad uses of repetition as a tool of emphasis. |
| When is the use of the same word for repetition necessary? When is it wrong? |
| When should exact parallelism be used? |
| How do departments from parallelism alter meaning and emphasis? |
| What cognitive emphasis is achieved by correlatives? |
| Describe a few techniques to achieve economy in writing? |
| When does excess economy blur into incomplete thinking? |