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Ellen Jovin is a self-professed grammar nerd.

In 2018, she set up a folding table outside her apartment building in New York City to answer the grammar and language questions of passersby. The experiment proved so popular that Jovin decided to take her 鈥淕rammar Table鈥� to all 50 states, then wrote about those experiences in the 2022 bestseller, 鈥淩ebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian.鈥�

Jovin is now the subject of a new comedic documentary, also titled 鈥淩ebel with a Clause,鈥� which is screening at sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 Guild Cinema at 3 and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 29. She will be at the theater before each screening, signing books and answering questions.

鈥淚 think of grammar as an adventure through language,鈥� Jovin said before a screening on Tuesday. 鈥淪o, I don鈥檛 want people to think of it as a list of prohibitions that they have to remember. I want people to approach the Grammar Table with curiosity, and ask what they want to ask and talk about what they want to talk about.

鈥淪ome people think of grammar as something sour and unfun, but it鈥檚 a window into cultures of the world,鈥� she said.

Many of the grammatical do鈥檚 and don鈥檛s people were taught in elementary school are not even correct. According to Jovin, it鈥檚 perfectly acceptable to start sentences with conjunctions, such as 鈥渁nd,鈥� 鈥渙r鈥� and 鈥渂ut,鈥� and to end sentences in prepositions, such as 鈥渨ith,鈥� 鈥渢o鈥� and 鈥渁t.鈥�

The most common question, by far, that people ask Jovin pertains to the Oxford comma, the optional comma placed before the final 鈥渁nd鈥� in a list of three or more items. AP style, which the Journal follows, avoids the Oxford comma, but the punctuation mark has many passionate defenders. Jovin said she has no strong preference for or against the Oxford comma, but she is quick to point out that not even AP style prohibits it entirely.

鈥淎P style says you鈥檙e allowed to use it when it鈥檚 needed for clarity,鈥� Jovin said, 鈥渁nd AP style users regularly ignore that exception.鈥�

Whether you love punctuation marks and parts of speech, or you鈥檙e still recovering from English class trauma, Jovin hopes her approach to grammar as an 鈥渁dventure through language鈥� makes a ticklish subject fun and approachable.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really just meant to be a way for people to come together, and we need more public conversation,鈥� Jovin said.

Logan Royce Beitmen is an arts writer for the sa国际传媒官网网页入口. He covers visual art, music, fashion, theater and more. Reach him at lbeitmen@abqjournal.com or on Instagram at .