> > Sam, I would not think to question you as to what is an "unfailingly intuitive" rule for people for whom English (or American) is a first language.
> > Let us not damn people for not knowing the rules unless we can tell them what they are. And to tell newcomers what the rules are we have to have worked them out ourselves.
>
> That was a beautiful post, but I'm not sure if you were just being informative or trying to right a perceived haughtiness on my part.
>
> Oh, and it's "grammarian" -- get it right. :-) :-)

Just being informative, or indulging the taste for discussing something not that many people find a hot conversational topic. No perception of haughtiness, just pointing out that sometimes we can't articulate our understanding of something till it has been brought to our attention for our own critical appraisal of it. Penny Arcade used to (and for all I know still does) get people to examine their assumptions about personal or social matters by taking a contrary position, then eliciting their justifications for their own position. Often fascinating to watch.

Oh, and thanks for the spelling tip. :-}