re: Command of the English language

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I don't think reading fiction or poetry really helps with grammar. It does help with writing in that it increases your lexicon and it shows different ways to communicate the same idea.

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I think it probably does, assuming you're not reading awful writers. For example, a lot of my profession is writing on a pretty high level, and I don't rely on grammatical rules. I rely on what strikes me as correct/incorrect (and then I'll look up a rule, but that is rare).

Anyway, point being that some people don't have that "it doesn't sound correct" response. Reading, even fiction, will help with that if you do it enough. Over time you'll pick up rules and portions of rules that'll reinforce the response.

And believe it or not, engaging in substantive discussions on message boards will help, but only if you treat your discussions like you're writing at a reasonably high level. Don't get me wrong, I'll use conjunctions and slang, but I write like I'd write an email to a buddy, which is sadly probably at a higher level than a lot of people use in business correspondence. It takes more effort, but I'd rather not have internet/texting degrade my ability to write like an adult.