I'm here today to de-mythify the rules of grammar. Yep, that's right. There are real grammar myths embedded into what most people think are hard and fast rules. I'm going to tackle three of the most popular right this minute, take them head on, throw them to the ground and beat them to a pulp.
Grammar Myth #1: You can't end a sentence with a preposition.
This is by far the most pervasive myth in grammar. It's absolute bunk. If you're writing an academic or scholarly article, you should try to avoid placing the preposition at the end whenever possible, but saying this is a "rule" is tantamount to grammar dictatorship. Just one ridiculous example would be: Down floats the leaf. Even better: Up I think I'm going to throw. In those cases, the rule makes no sense whatsoever. In other circumstances, it has a profound impact on tone and style:
The resume is for the job for which I'm applying.
The resume is for the job I'm applying for.
We could almost say that the first example sounds a little hoity toity. The fact is, we regularly end sentences with prepositions in common speech. There's nothing wrong with it, and as we've seen, it makes a whole lot of difference in some cases.
Grammar Myth #2: You shouldn't start a sentence with a conjunction.
When I was in fifth grade, Mrs. Heron taught us that we should not start sentences with a conjunction (and, but, or - especially and). She would even put ugly red marks on our writing when we ignored her and did it anyway. Well, Mrs. Heron, I'm sorry to say you were wrong. There is nothing that states that this is a rock-solid, go-to-prison-if-you-break-it rule. Again, if you are writing an academic or business piece, it's better if you don't. Conjunctions by their very definition link things. If you have a period followed by a conjunction, you aren't really joining anything. But I do this all the time. And I do it without apology.
What is important from my point of view as an editor is that you don't overdo it. If I see a manuscript with too many sentences starting with "and," I tend to get frustrated. While there may not be a rule per se, excess is not recommended.
Grammar Myth #3: Never, ever split an infinitive.
First, it's often helpful to define "infinhtive" before we talk about splitting the darn thing. An infinitive is simply the base form of a verb, and in English, it is often preceded by the word "to": to be, to run, to think, to be able to. If you put a word - usually an adverb - between the "to" and its verb, this is known as splitting the infinitive. Examples: to quickly run, to slowly fall, to immediately flee. In fact, the prohibition against splitting infinitives only came about in the late 19th century. All modern style books (that I'm aware of), have eliminated all traces of discrimination against split infinitives. Even the voluminous Chicago Manual of Style freed writers to split infinitives in its 13th edition (1983). Split away, writers, split away!
When I look at a split infinitive, I might move the adverb around when it's possible. In some instances, you just can't say it any other way. Take the following, for example:
To boldly go where no man has gone before.
In order to really succeed...
On the other hand, here are some examples I'm likely to glue back together:
I want to slowly remove the Band-Aid. (I want to remove the Band-Aid slowly.)
To quickly get to town, he had to take a short cut. (To get to town quickly, he had to take a short cut.)
These types of issues are really issues of style. You can tell that following the rules sets a different tone than ignoring them. Use whatever makes you comfortable, whatever fits your style.
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