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FILM | ALBUQUERUQUE

Clause and effect

‘Rebel with a Clause’ star Ellen Jovin answers your grammar questions ahead of Guild Cinema screenings

Published

‘Rebel with a Clause’

WHEN: 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 29

WHERE: Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Ave. NE

HOW MUCH: $15 at


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 “Grammar Table” to all 50 states, then wrote about those experiences in the 2022 bestseller, “Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian.”

Jovin is now the subject of a new comedic documentary, also titled “Rebel with a Clause,” which is screening at Albuquerque’s 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.

“I think of grammar as an adventure through language,” Jovin said before a screening on Tuesday. “So, I don’t 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.

“Some people think of grammar as something sour and unfun, but it’s a window into cultures of the world,” she said.

Many of the grammatical do’s and don’ts people were taught in elementary school are not even correct. According to Jovin, it’s perfectly acceptable to start sentences with conjunctions, such as “and,” “or” and “but,” and to end sentences in prepositions, such as “with,” “to” and “at.”

The most common question, by far, that people ask Jovin pertains to the Oxford comma, the optional comma placed before the final “and” 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.

“AP style says you’re allowed to use it when it’s needed for clarity,” Jovin said, “and AP style users regularly ignore that exception.”

Whether you love punctuation marks and parts of speech, or you’re still recovering from English class trauma, Jovin hopes her approach to grammar as an “adventure through language” makes a ticklish subject fun and approachable.

“It’s really just meant to be a way for people to come together, and we need more public conversation,” Jovin said.

Logan Royce Beitmen is an arts writer for the ϼ. He covers visual art, music, fashion, theater and more. Reach him at lbeitmen@abqjournal.com or on Instagram at .