Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Junkomama]

Hello, teachers.
Is the following sentence acceptable?

1."Teachers shoud teach students the group norms."
2."If there were not strict rules, they would lose/woulud not be able to have their norms."

Does the word norm have the same meaning as "principle" or "guideline"?

Thank you in advance!
Junkomama

[2006]

A "norm" is "a principle of right action binding upon the members of a group and serving to guide, control, or regulate proper and acceptable behavior." (from Merriam-Webster Online)

So the meaning is similar to that of principle or guideline.

Sentence #1 is good.
Sentence #2 is not very good; you can change it to 'If there were no strict rules, there would be no norms.

[Junkomama]

Thank you so much , 2006-san!!

Regards,
Junkomama