State verbs - e.g. like

[Soup]

I agree with Fivejedjon on this. Rules are often better if taken as guidelines rather than absolute laws that must be followed slavishly on all occasions. Language is flexible, and we sometimes break rules when they don't fit our purpose.

Nomenclature is certainly a problem. If rules were seen as patterns, teachers and learners would view language in a different way.

[enthink]

I agree with Fivejedjon on this. Rules are often better if taken as guidelines rather than absolute laws that must be followed slavishly on all occasions. Language is flexible, and we sometimes break rules when they don't fit our purpose.

I agree with that too wholeheartedly. That's why I say the textbooks do a disservice when they present it as a rule without exceptions. They mislead any teacher who is not a native speaker.

[Tdol]

Nomenclature is certainly a problem. If rules were seen as patterns, teachers and learners would view language in a different way.

A more complex and less certain view, but one I think would probably be better in many cases.

And students could raise their hands when told that 'It is I' is the rule and say, 'That's not a rule; it's a pattern.'