Straightforward English
Clay Lane is a website for people who want to feel comfortable reading and writing good English, and who truly care about the language and heritage of the English people. It is inspired by textbooks written by Yorkshire schoolmaster NL Clay, used in English schools and homes from the 1920s to the 1960s, so it is ideal for those who prefer traditional methods and content.
Clay believed in ‘straightforward English’, that is, in no-nonsense speaking and writing that is clear and correct, and is the result of serious reflection, not just a desire to build a following. Freedom and democracy, he warned, would be mere catchwords without it. See Straightforward English.
Read short passages of good, straightforward English, from Shakespeare and the Bible to Defoe, Austen, Dickens and Kipling.
Broaden your knowledge of history, ideas and literature as you read.
Solve brainteasers in oral and written composition, like those Clay gave to his Grammar School pupils.
Ask for help with your English if you feel you need it.
“The course should train pupils to observe, learn more of the world they live in, think clearly, use the imagination and to speak clearly.”
NL Clay, Think and Speak (1929)
Featured Music
Richard Addinsell: Tom Brown’s Schooldays: Overture
Featured Post
From The Best Man for the Job
Dear Sir,
It seems impossible to say anything in public which will not be misunderstood and misrepresented.
I have no objection to working men as candidates. What I object to is that a candidate should be chosen only or mainly because he is a working man, and that I should be expected to vote for him for the same reason.
Featured Exercise
Statements, Questions and Commands Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in a sentence. Try to include at least one statement, one question and one command among your sentences. Note that some verbs make awkward or meaningless words of command, e.g. need, happen.
1 Respect. 2 Grab. 3 Log. 4 Release. 5 Advance. 6 Slice. 7 Opt. 8 Fan. 9 Bite.
Variations: 1. use a minimum of seven words for each sentence 2. include negatives, e.g. isn’t, don’t, never 3. use the words ‘must’ to make commands 4. compose a short dialogue containing all three kinds of sentence: one statement, one question and one command
