Grammar myths - something I found and think is worth sharing

[Lady Vulpix]

I stumbled upon this article (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/top-ten-grammar-myths.aspx) today and I think it's quite good. We've had notes and discussions about grammar before, but what this article addresses are fake grammar rules, which however some people try to enforce.

Quoted for the lazy: ;)


Grammar Girl's Top 10 Language Myths:

10. A run-on sentence is a really long sentence. Wrong! They can actually be quite short. In a run-on sentence, independent clauses are squished together without the help of punctuation or a conjunction. If you write “I am short he is tall,” as one sentence without a semicolon (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/semicolons.aspx), colon (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/colon-grammar.aspx), or dash (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/dashes-grammar.aspx) between the two independent clauses, it's a run-on sentence even though it only has six words. (See episode 49 (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/run-on-sentences.aspx) for more details.)

9. You shouldn't start a sentence with the word “however.” Wrong! It's fine to start a sentence with “however” so long as you use a comma (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx) after it when it means "nevertheless." (See episode 58 (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/starting-a-sentence-with-however.aspx) for more details.)

8. “Irregardless” is not a word. Wrong! “Irregardless” is a bad word and a word you shouldn't use, but it is a word. “Floogetyflop” isn't a word—I just made it up and you have no idea what it means.  “Irregardless,” on the other hand, is in almost every dictionary labeled as nonstandard. You shouldn't use it if you want to be taken seriously, but it has gained wide enough use to qualify as a word. (See episode 94 (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/irregardless.aspx) for more details.)

7. There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in “s.” Wrong! It's a style choice (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/im-so-stylish.aspx). For example, in the phrase “Kansas's statute,” you can put just an apostrophe at the end of “Kansas” or you can put an apostrophe “s” at the end of “Kansas.” Both ways are acceptable. (See episode 35 (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-plural-grammar-rules.aspx) for more details.)

6. Passive voice is always wrong. Wrong! Passive voice is when you don't name the person who's responsible for the action. An example is the sentence "Mistakes were made," because it doesn't say who made the mistakes. If you don't know who is responsible for an action, passive voice can be the best choice. (See episode 46 (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/active-voice-versus-passive-voice.aspx) for more details.)

5. “I.e.” and “e.g.” mean the same thing. Wrong! “E.g.” means "for example," and “i.e.” means roughly "in other words." You use “e.g.” to provide a list of incomplete examples, and you use “i.e.” to provide a complete clarifying list or statement. (See episode 53 (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/ie-eg-oh-my.aspx) for more details.)

4. You use “a” before words that start with consonants and “an” before words that start with vowels. Wrong! You use “a” before words that start with consonant sounds and “an” before words that start with vowel sounds. So, you'd write that someone has an MBA instead of a MBA, because even though “MBA” starts with “m,” which is a consonant, it starts with the sound of the vowel “e”--MBA. (See episode 47 (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/a-versus-an.aspx) for more details.)

3. It's incorrect to answer the question "How are you?" with the statement "I'm good." Wrong! “Am” is a linking verb and linking verbs should be modified (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/misplaced-modifiers.aspx) by adjectives such as “good.” Because “well” can also act as an adjective, it's also fine to answer "I'm well," but some grammarians believe "I'm well" should be used to talk about your health and not your general disposition. (See episode 51 (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/good-versus-well.aspx) for more details.)

2. You shouldn't split infinitives. Wrong! Nearly all grammarians want to boldly tell you it's OK to split infinitives. An infinitive is a two-word form of a verb. An example is "to tell." In a split infinitive, another word separates the two parts of the verb. "To boldly tell" is a split infinitive because “boldly” separates “to” from “tell.” (See episode 9 (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/split-infinitives.aspx) for more details.)

1. You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition. Wrong! You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition when the sentence would mean the same thing if you left off the preposition. That means "Where are you at?" is wrong because "Where are you?" means the same thing. But there are many sentences where the final preposition is part of a phrasal verb or is necessary to keep from making stuffy, stilted sentences: “I'm going to throw up,” “Let's kiss and make up,” and “What are you waiting for” are just a few examples.  (See episode 69 (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/ending-prepositions.aspx) for more details.)

[Oslo]

As soon as I saw the title of this thread I immediately thought of 1 and 2. So many of my students/peers have insisted on stringing together these awkward syntactical train-wrecks if only for the sake of keeping their prepositions as far away from the ends of their sentences as possible, even when phrasal verbs require it. On a similar note, I remember getting my thesis draft back from my (lovely but slightly obstinate) first reader to find that he'd red-penned a bunch of split infinitives. I fixed them but reaaally didn't want to. :( Lots of clunky sentences were born that day.

The passive voice one is interesting, though, if only because I've never heard it described as a hard and fast grammar no-no but rather as an indication of less dynamic writing. Sometimes it's necessary, as in the above example, but often it saps the energy/clarity/concision from good prose. It's fine in conversation but I'll almost certainly circle it while grading.

[Lady Vulpix]

I had written a long reply to your post, then I checked another tab, and when I returned to this one the reply had disappeared before I could post it! :( That looks like a major bug in Firefox.

I was saying that myth #1 had always baffled me since I first heard about it on TV. Someone shouted out "you've ended a sentence with a preposition!" and I didn't get the joke.

Then someone brought it up here on TPM, I asked about it because I'd studied English for about 13 years and had never learned of such a rule, and there was a discussion about it, with some people saying it wasn't really a rule but it was frowned upon (which ends with a preposition ;)), some suggesting awful ways to "fix" sentences which made no sense whatsoever, and the general conclusion being "if it feels right to do it, then do it. It's not even a real rule." And sometimes the natural way to form a sentence is with a preposition at the end.

But I still wondered where that crazy idea had come from. (Yes, another preposition.) Now I think I get it. There is a rule, but the meaning of the rule has been perverted. What the real rule says is "don't add a preposition at the end of a sentence which makes perfect sense without it". It does not say "bend sentences beyond recognition to ensure there is never a preposition at the end". I think that makes sense. :)

[Blademaster]

9. You shouldn't start a sentence with the word “however.” Wrong! It's fine to start a sentence with “however” so long as you use a comma (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx) after it when it means "nevertheless." (See episode 58 (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/starting-a-sentence-with-however.aspx) for more details.)

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7. There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in “s.” Wrong! It's a style choice (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/im-so-stylish.aspx). For example, in the phrase “Kansas's statute,” you can put just an apostrophe at the end of “Kansas” or you can put an apostrophe “s” at the end of “Kansas.” Both ways are acceptable. (See episode 35 (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-plural-grammar-rules.aspx) for more details.)

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4. You use “a” before words that start with consonants and “an” before words that start with vowels. Wrong! You use “a” before words that start with consonant sounds and “an” before words that start with vowel sounds. So, you'd write that someone has an MBA instead of a MBA, because even though “MBA” starts with “m,” which is a consonant, it starts with the sound of the vowel “e”--MBA. (See episode 47 (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/a-versus-an.aspx) for more details.)

HAH! SUCK IT, GRADE SCHOOL! :cawg:

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

An interesting read. This is why I'm like Shadow Wolf's signature, I could write almost anything here lol.