Autistic non-verbal boy speaks directly to his mother for the first time.

[u/bendubberley_]

[u/Evendim]

He was an incredibly observant man.

You're right, there is no need for the word got in nearly every example. I laugh about it with my own students and they try to stump me, but not once have they managed to find a context where it cannot be replaced with a better word.

It is "common" as he would have said. Coming from an Australian Electrician, that is kind of funny.

Oh and he would have swatted you across the head for your (American) spelling of "learnt". ;)

[u/o7_HiBye_o7 → u/Evendim]

I had an 8th grade reading teacher that was super awesome. Was the first to treat us as people and not kids. He let us eat/drink or even curse (respectfully) on papers and while Q+A parts happened. He had 3 rules.

1) If you get caught with food/drink/cursing, yoi were on your own and he didn't see/hear it.

2) never say "god damn" was religious, but respectful

3) never use the word "very"

He legit hated that word and I forgot until your story of the word "got". I never thought of it being a useless word. Unsure how often I use it day to day.

[u/NBAFansAre2Ply → u/o7_HiBye_o7]

I had a science teacher who taught us technical writing. he said to never use the word "it". For example, if you handed in a lab report and your observations said: "When I added the baking soda to the vinegar, it began to bubble" he'd mark me down and say "what began to bubble? the vinegar? the baking soda? the mixture? the flask? the table?

frustrating at the time but definitely helped me develop into a very clear and precise writer and get my B.Sc later down the road.

[u/Evendim → u/o7_HiBye_o7]

I wonder where he obtained (didn't use the word got there) his hatred of the word "very"? I am intrigued!

You will absolutely notice it now, and you can always think of another word.

[u/TinyRascalSaurus → u/Evendim]

I had a high school teacher like that. He wanted us to try using the words we read in conversation, not rely on simple broad terms from childhood. It was coming from a good place of generally wanting to improve our vocabulary so we'd have better prospects in life.

This was at a school just outside the hood where a lot of kids didn't graduate because they went to prison when they were 18. He wanted to break that cycle so badly and give us whatever he could to succeed. He noticed I was poor but an avid and very advanced reader and bought me books with his own money that were more on my level than what the school library offered. He was truly a great guy.

[u/xtremebox → u/TinyRascalSaurus]

I hope you do him proud TinyRascal. I guarantee he still remembers you

[u/dancesquared → u/Evendim]

“Very” is vague and overused.

[u/Larry-Man → u/dancesquared]

Thank you very much. It’s very interesting how very unhelpful the word is.

[u/dancesquared → u/Larry-Man]

You’re very welcome. I’m very pleased you found my comment very useful.

[u/Dboy777 → u/Evendim]

Love all this, from one Australian English teacher to another!

[u/Evendim → u/Dboy777]

Hahaha hell yeah! :)

Don't worry, I wont tell on you for using the simplified version of English. Most people do. I have held onto my grandfather's archaic ways. Including gaol. I love confusing kids with that one :)

Oh and my lord, if he ever heard me say the letter H as anything other than Aitch, I would have been disowned.

[u/Dboy777 → u/Evendim]

Amen. 'Haytch' makes me puke a little in my mouth.

[u/Evendim → u/Dboy777]

One of my great joys in life is when I get questioned on it in the classroom, and the justification for "haytch" is that it has to start with the sound of the letter. I always respond with "Oh, you mean like WoubleU?" ;)

[u/NeverEndingWhoreMe → u/Evendim]

Random, but I once met a woman whose last name was "Aytch". I thought that was neat.

[u/Evendim → u/[deleted]]

No one said anything about a bigger word? Have is only 1 extra letter, and sounds a lot better. I am not talking thesaurus levels here.

"I've got" replaced with "I have" is neither more complicated, or masturbatory. Nor is it unfamiliar. In fact it removes the contraction and makes readability easier.

[u/timmytissue → u/Evendim]

Got is one of the most versatile and grammatically interesting words in English imo.