--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I began to parse the sentence. This is…" description: "\"“I began to parse the sentence. This is what English majors do. It's what we're trained to do. We don't know how to do anything else, except drive cabs..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/gary-reilly-13028_english-major_i-began-to-parse-the-sentence-this-is-wh_1743279.png" --- # I began to parse the sentence. This is what English majors… ![“I began to parse the sentence. This is what English majors do. It's what we're trained to do. We don't know how to do anything else, except drive cabs.” quote by Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/gary-reilly-13028_english-major_i-began-to-parse-the-sentence-this-is-wh_1743279.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/gary-reilly-13028_english-major_i-began-to-parse-the-sentence-this-is-wh_1743279.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/gary-reilly-13028_english-major_i-began-to-parse-the-sentence-this-is-wh_1743279.png) > ““I began to parse the sentence. This is what English majors do. It's what we're trained to do. We don't know how to do anything else, except drive cabs.”” [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. English majors are trained to analyze language, limiting their practical skills to driving cabs. **In simple terms:** English majors overanalyze, lack practical skills. Key Takeaway Broaden skill sets beyond academic focus. Themes education skill gap career Mood critical thoughtful Type educational observational When to use this quote - job market - career counseling - skill development - academic reform Key Concepts critical thinking vocational training curriculum relevance Questions to Reflect On - How can curricula balance analysis and practical skills? - What alternative career paths suit analytical thinkers? A Different Perspective Overgeneralization of majors' abilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Began Parse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/began-parse-1538906/) [English major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-major/) [English Majors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-majors-1538903/) [Majors Trained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majors-trained-1538904/) [Sentence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentence/) [Sentence English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentence-english-1538905/) ## Related quotes > [“MAYBE YOU SHOULD BE AN ENGLISH MAJOR. AT LEAST, YOU GET TO READ STUFF THAT'S WRITTEN BY PEOPLE WHO CAN WRITE! 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Could it be that 'I do' is the longest sentence?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-am-is-reportedly-the-shortest-sentence-in-the-english-language/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“I had long ago learned that books are the best presents you can buy for a person--except me. I like toys. But the point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/i-had-long-ago-learned-that-books-are-the-best-presents-you-can-buy/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [“I suppose I could have been nicer when I was at Columbia. I could have been polite, respectful, turned in my papers on time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/i-suppose-i-could-have-been-nicer-when-i-was-at-columbia-i-could-have/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [“It's my job as best friend to make sure he's not a serial killer. Or an English major, not sure which one's worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/it-s-my-job-as-best-friend-to-make-sure-he-s-not-a-serial-killer-or/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [I ended up doing four or five plays in college and being an English major with my thesis in language acquisition, which I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/i-ended-up-doing-four-or-five-plays-in-college-and-being-an-english/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) ## More by Gary Reilly > [“The big house... reminded me of the types of structures you can still see in places like Center City: gingerbread houses, two-story affairs built…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/the-big-house-reminded-me-of-the-types-of-structures-you-can-still/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [It's a funny thing about writing. You get so balled up in a story idea that you lose your perspective and forget that human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/it-s-a-funny-thing-about-writing-you-get-so-balled-up-in-a-story-idea/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [“I don't think there is anything that annoys me as much as having to "be" somewhere. It seems like every bad thing that ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/i-don-t-think-there-is-anything-that-annoys-me-as-much-as-having-to/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [“My imagination was running amok again. Twice in one night. This never happens when I’m sitting in front of a typewriter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/my-imagination-was-running-amok-again-twice-in-one-night-this-never/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [“Writers, even unpublished writers, have a tendency not to notice what’s going on around them when they are the center of attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/writers-even-unpublished-writers-have-a-tendency-not-to-notice-what-s/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [Being a cab river is not unlike being a magician--minus the top hat, the cape, the rabbit, an the gorgeous assistant. But you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/being-a-cab-river-is-not-unlike-being-a-magician-minus-the-top-hat/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [“Golf baffles me. They says it’s a sport, and I have to take their word for it, but anything that involves having fun while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/golf-baffles-me-they-says-it-s-a-sport-and-i-have-to-take-their-word/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [“To me, knowing how to do something is like cheating. That's why I never studied in grade school. Studying made passing tests too easy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/to-me-knowing-how-to-do-something-is-like-cheating-that-s-why-i-never/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [“My fake weekend has begun. I always take Tuesday off, unless my rent is due and I need to pick up some extra cash.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/my-fake-weekend-has-begun-i-always-take-tuesday-off-unless-my-rent-is/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [“TGIF," I said aloud even though it was only Thursday. But I was alone in my apartment as far as I knew. I deliberately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/tgif-i-said-aloud-even-though-it-was-only-thursday-but-i-was-alone-in/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [Work/Loaf Ratio”...I have spent fourteen years perfecting... I won't bore you with a long-winded explanation of the “W/LR” save to say that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/work-loaf-ratio-i-have-spent-fourteen-years-perfecting-i-won-t-bore/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [“Get thee behind me, whatever you are," that's my motto.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/get-thee-behind-me-whatever-you-are-that-s-my-motto/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [“Late Friday morning I was driving toward Boulder. I was seated in "Doctor Lovebeads Cosmic Wonderbus and Mobile Mercantile." That entire phrase was painted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/late-friday-morning-i-was-driving-toward-boulder-i-was-seated-in/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [“I didn't offer to help him carry any of his stuff. That's the unwritten code between cabbies and movers… It's his punishment for tricking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/i-didn-t-offer-to-help-him-carry-any-of-his-stuff-that-s-the/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [“They say that a man has to want to quit before he can stop working, that nobody can stop working for him. His first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/they-say-that-a-man-has-to-want-to-quit-before-he-can-stop-working/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) [Explore all 52 Gary Reilly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) ## More English major quotes > [I ended up doing four or five plays in college and being an English major with my thesis in language acquisition, which I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/i-ended-up-doing-four-or-five-plays-in-college-and-being-an-english/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [“It's my job as best friend to make sure he's not a serial killer. Or an English major, not sure which one's worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/it-s-my-job-as-best-friend-to-make-sure-he-s-not-a-serial-killer-or/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [“I suppose I could have been nicer when I was at Columbia. I could have been polite, respectful, turned in my papers on time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/i-suppose-i-could-have-been-nicer-when-i-was-at-columbia-i-could-have/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [“The English major reads because, as rich as the one life he has may be, one life is not enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-edmundson/the-english-major-reads-because-as-rich-as-the-one-life-he-has-may-be/) [Mark Edmundson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-edmundson/) > [The feeling persists that no one can simultaneously be a respectable writer and understand how a refrigerator works, just as no gentleman wears a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-feeling-persists-that-no-one-can-simultaneously-be-a-respectable/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I swear on Peter Stuyvesant’s peg leg that the country that became the U.S. bears a closer family resemblance to the devil-may-care merchants of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/i-swear-on-peter-stuyvesant-s-peg-leg-that-the-country-that-became/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [The number one secret of being a successful writer is this: marry an English major.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-number-one-secret-of-being-a-successful-writer-is-this-marry-an/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [During his weekly address to the nation, President Obama discussed higher education and said, 'The most important skill you can sell is your knowledge.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/during-his-weekly-address-to-the-nation-president-obama-discussed/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [More than anything, being an English major made me more appreciative of authors and what an incredible feat it is to just finish a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mangan/more-than-anything-being-an-english-major-made-me-more-appreciative/) [Dan Mangan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mangan/) > [“Sylvia Plath" A miniature mad talent? 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And before she can think of a proper answer, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-anderson-jr/you-going-back-he-asks-where-college-he-says-you-plan-on-going-back/) [Patrick Anderson Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-anderson-jr/) [Browse all 81 English major quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-major/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I began to parse the sentence. This is what English majors do. It's what we're trained to do. 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